Latest West Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Workers’ Comp Apportion Evals Must be Well-Reasoned, WV Supreme Court Says

Apr 24 2024 // West Virginia law, like statutes in a number of states, allows employers to try and apportion contributions to a worker’s injury, including how much a pre-existing condition may have played a role. The...

West Virginia Saw 5 Tornadoes Last Week, Double the Yearly Average

Apr 10 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The National Weather Service on Monday confirmed a fifth tornado touched down during severe storms that barreled across West Virginia last week. That’s more than double the state’s...

Nationwide Wants 19% Increase in Auto Rates in West Virginia

Apr 4 2024 // Nationwide Insurance is asking West Virginia regulators for a 19% average rate increase on auto liability insurance, a move that could affect more than 27,000 insured drivers. The West Virginia insurance commissioner said...

Severe Weather Spawns Tornado, Damage and One Death in South, Midwest

Apr 4 2024 // Thousands of homes and businesses were without power Tuesday as severe weather roared through several states, causing at least one death and spawning possible tornadoes. Parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Mississippi,...

West Virginia Lawmakers Ban Smoking in Cars with Kids Present

Mar 25 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia, which has the highest rate of adult cigarette use in the nation, became the 12th state to ban smoking in vehicles with children present under a bill signed by Republican Gov. Jim...

Indiana, West Virginia Pass New Restrictions on Third-Party Litigation Financing

Mar 21 2024 // Efforts to rein in third-party litigation financing are on their way to becoming law in Indiana and West Virginia, a scorecard that is less than what business and insurance interests had hoped for this spring. In Indiana,...

Panel Asks W.Va. Supreme Court if Opioid Distribution Can Cause a Public Nuisance

Mar 21 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court asked West Virginia’s highest court Monday whether opioid distributions can cause a public nuisance as it reviews a landmark lawsuit against three major U.S. drug...

WV Governor’s Coal Company Found in Contempt, Must Pay BrickStreet for Comp Loss

Feb 28 2024 // A coal company owned by West Virginia’s governor has been found in contempt of court and must face fines of $2,500 a day until it pays its contractual obligations to its workers’ compensation insurance carrier,...

West Virginia Bill Stokes Fears About Pesticide-Producing Logging Facility

Feb 15 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia bill approved by the House of Delegates on Tuesday that limits counties from regulating agricultural operations is stoking fears that a logging company could resurrect plans to...

Bank Plans to Auction Off Greenbriar Lots Owned by West Virginia Governor

Feb 9 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A Virginia bank that is seeking to recover more than $300 million in longstanding unpaid business loans to the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is planning to auction off land at a...

Authorities: Man Fleeing Police in Alabama Caused Crash That Injured Gayle Manchin

Feb 5 2024 // HOMEWOOD, Ala. (AP) — A man fleeing police caused the Alabama car crash that injured Gayle Manchin, head of an economic development partnership of the federal government and 13 state governments and the wife of U.S. Sen....

West Virginia Construction Firm to Buy Bankrupt College Campus

Feb 2 2024 // CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved the sale of a defunct private university’s campus to the owner of a West Virginia construction firm for $5 million. Craig G. Phillips, owner...

WV Supreme Court Denies Insurers’ Appeal in Chlorine Leak that Damaged Plant

Jan 26 2024 // A group of 12 insurance companies cannot yet appeal a trial court’s finding that contamination exclusions did not bar coverage for a chemical plant that was damaged when 90 tons of liquid chlorine leaked from a...

West Virginia Bill Would Allow Teachers to Carry Guns at School

Jan 26 2024 // West Virginia’s Republican-dominated Legislature pushed forward a slate of contentious bills Wednesday that would arm teachers, allow people to sue libraries over books that offend them and restrict where transgender...

Former Finance Manager of WV Disaster Assistance Sentenced to 3 Years for Theft

Jan 16 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A former finance manager of a nonprofit organization that assists West Virginia disaster victims was sentenced Thursday to more than three years in prison for the theft of $871,000 from the...

Progressive Files for 19.78% Auto Insurance Rate Increase in West Virginia

Jan 10 2024 // Less than a month after Farmers Direct Insurance filed for a hefty rate increase on West Virginia auto liability policies, Progressive has followed suit with an almost identical request. The West Virginia insurance...

Real Estate Firm Bids $4.9M for Campus of Bankrupt West Virginia College

Jan 2 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal bankruptcy court in West Virginia has set a hearing for next month on the potential sale of a defunct private university`s campus. A court-appointed trustee filed a motion Wednesday...

Farmers Direct Asks for 20% Auto Rate Increase in West Virginia

Dec 15 2023 // The West Virginia Insurance Commissioner’s Office is accepting comments on a proposed 19.9% auto liability insurance rate increase for Farmers Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Co. The proposed increase is one...

West Virginia Appeals Court Reverses $7M Jury Award in Ford Fatality Lawsuit

Dec 11 2023 // An appeals court in West Virginia on Friday reversed a $7 million award in a product liability lawsuit against the Ford Motor Co. to the family of a woman who died when her Ford Mustang was involved in a fiery crash. The...

Wildfires Prompt North Carolina, Tennessee Campgrounds to Evacuate; West Virginia Blaze Contained

Nov 22 2023 // Wildfires prompted campgrounds in North Carolina and Tennessee to evacuate starting Sunday while firefighters prepared for high winds and low humidity on Monday, though officials hoped for some help from expected rain. The...