mr. fineberg. we feel mr. fineberg has had extensive experience and he will bring his experience and objectivity to assess what are the appropriate next steps because we do understand that we have civic responsibilities as well as legal responsibilities. >> are you saying that the hiring of mr. fineberg indicates that gm will give some kind of settlement with those individuals whose -- the families whose loved ones lost their lives? >> we are -- we have just begun to work with mr. fineberg. in fact, our first meeting will be on friday. it will take probably 30 to 60 days to evaluate the situation, so we have not made any decisions. we have just started this process with mr. fineberg. >> and that might include people who have been injured as well? >> again, we have not made any decisions. >> let me ask you this. during gm's restructuring, did the company disclose what it knew about this ignition switch defect? by 2009 there is no doubt officials in gm were aware of this problem. >> i was not aware of this issue.

mr. fineberg brings expertise and objectivity to this effort.s i have said, i consider this to be an extraordinary event and we are responding to it in an extraordinary way. as i see it, gm has civil responsibilities and legal responsibilities. we are thinking through exactly what those responsibilities are and how to balance them in an appropriate manner. bringing on mr. fineberg is the first step. i would now be happy to answer your questions. thank you. >> thank you, miss barra. i also want to acknowledge the families are here today. know that we are aware and have the sympathy of all the committee here. kelly erin rudy of scranton, pennsylvania is one of those we offer sympathy to the families. we have all of you in our hearts. miss barra, our committee reviewed more than 200,000 pages of documents. what we found is that as soon as the cobalt hit the road in 2004, drivers began to immediately complain to general motors that the car's ignition systems didn't work properly. you can imagine how frightening it is to drive a car and suddenly lose

mr. fineberg. our first meeting will be on friday. it will take probably 30 to 60 days to evaluate the situation. so i have -- we have not made any decisions. we have just started this process with mr. fineberg. >> and that might include people who have been injured as well? >> again, we have not made any decisions. >> let me ask you this. during gm's restructuring, did the company disclose what it knew about the ignition switch defect by 2009 there is now doubt that officials in gm were aware of this problem. >> i was not aware of this issue. i can't speak to what was disclosed but -- again, our investigation will cover if there was any information. but to my knowledge it was not known at the senior leadership of the company. >> does gm accept responsibility for the accidents caused by the company's defective vehicles? >> first of all, i again want to reiterate we think the situation is tragic and we apologize for what has happened and we're doing a full investigation to understand -- >> i'm talking about responsibility and even liab

mr. fineberg. our first meeting will be on friday. it will take probably 30 to 60 days to evaluate the situation. so i have -- we have not made any decisions. we have just started this process with mr. fineberg. >> and that might include people who have been injured as well? >> again, we have not made any decisions. >> let me ask you this. during gm's restructuring, did the company disclose what it knew about the ignition switch defect by 2009 there is now doubt that officials in gm were aware of this problem. >> i was not aware of this issue. i can't speak to what was disclosed but -- again, our investigation will cover if there was any information. but to my knowledge it was not known at the senior leadership of the company. >> does gm accept responsibility for the accidents caused by the company's defective vehicles? >> first of all, i again want to reiterate we think the situation is tragic and we apologize for what has happened and we're doing a full investigation to understand -- >> i'm talking about responsibility and even liab

announce that we have retained kenneth fineberg as a consultant to help us evaluate the situation and recommend the best paths forward. i am sure this committee knows mrinberg is highly qualified and very experienced in handling matters such as this. having led the compensation efforts involved with 9/11, the bp oil spill and the boston marathon bombing. mr. feinberg brings expertise and objectivity to this effort. as i have said, i consider this to be an extraordinary event and we are responding to it in an extraordinary way. as i see it, gm has civil responsibilities and legal responsibilities. we are thinking through exactly what those responsibilities are and how to balance them in an appropriate manner. bringing on mr. feinberg is the first step. i would now be happy to answer your questions. thank you. >> thank you, ms. barra. >> nbc capital correspondent kelly o'donnell is back. kelly, ms. barra talking about meeting with the new vp of safety and also talking about bringing on kenneth feinberg, who as she noted viewers may remember from his role in determining post-9/11 compensation, the bp oil spill and the boston marathon bombing. >> he is an