The number of death and injury claims connected to the faulty General Motors Co. ignition switch could rise.

According to Reuters roughly 2.6 million cars were previously recalled because of defective ignition switches. The number of deaths eligible for compensation in connection with the malfunction currently stands at 51.

An official responsible for victim compensation with the automaker said the number of claims will "absolutely" rise as more claims are being sent in and processed.

The deadline for submitting claims for compensation was Jan. 31. As of Sunday, the number of claims grew to 4,180 from 3,068. Since last Thursday, 700 claims were filed. The month of January saw the largest amount of claims submitted with more than 1,600 filed.

The total number will increase as claims postmarked before the deadline will still be accepted. The original deadline to file claims had been Dec. 31, 2014.

GM started recalling millions of vehicles last year, 11 years after becoming aware of the ignition switch problems. The malfunction has been connected to a number of fatalities. The switch can slip out of place, stalling the vehicle and disabling air bags.

According to claims already filed, the number of eligible catastrophic injuries stands at eight. Less serious injuries are reported at 69.

GM hired attorney Kenneth Feinberg to handle the out-of-court compensation program to pay claims from those injured or killed because of the ignition issues.

Feinberg previously ran high-profile victim compensation funds for the Sept. 11 attack and Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Feinberg is responsible for determining who is eligible for compensation. GM says they will not challenge his decisions. GM has set aside $400 million to $600 million to pay for compensation.

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