More than 50 automakers that purchased and installed Takata air bags with defective inflators can now apply for compensation from an $850 million restitution fund, according to the mediator overseeing the fund.

The air bags, which spurred widespread safety recalls, have been linked to 18 deaths worldwide, including 13 in the U.S.

The restitution fund was established as part of Takata’s plea agreement in the company’s criminal case in the U.S. Takata on Feb. 27 pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

The U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan appointed Eric D. Green, a Boston law professor and mediator, to manage the restitution fund’s distribution. The fund launched Dec. 1, Green announced.

Green is also in charge of a separate $125 million restitution fund for people who suffered personal injuries or wrongful death as a result of the rupture of a Takata air bag inflator. Allocation of that fund will be announced at a later date, Green said.