Volkswagen's troubles in the US could be deepening

Volkswagen's troubles in the US could be deepening after Bloomberg News reported that the company's death and injury claims were substantially lower than any other automaker.

Bloomberg's Jeff Green and Jeff Plungis cite a study of government data by financial advisory firm Stout Risius Ross Inc., which shows that the largest automaker's reported death and injury claims at a rate that was 9 times higher than Volkswagen did. In other words, VW's numbers are suspiciously low.

This has nothing to do with the emissions scandal that's currently engulfing VW. (About 11 million cars worldwide, mostly in Europe, are affected and with poisonous emissions as high as 40 times over the U.S. limit.)

Other carmakers have been caught under reporting death and injury claims. Honda was fined $70 million by US regulators earlier this year for the same reason.

There's no evidence in Bloomberg's story that suggests Volkswagen is deliberately underreporting claims, but the numbers are low enough that some people are questioning their accuracy.

Volkswagen's US spokeswoman declined to comment to Bloomberg. Business Insider has separately reached out for a response.

Read the full Bloomberg story here.