Latest Construction Headlines
All the headlines from our Construction Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Storm Shelter Construction Begins on 1st of 20 Schools in City in Oklahoma
May 11 2016 // Construction is underway at the first of 20 Tulsa, Okla.-area schools that will receive new classroom or library additions to double as storm shelters. The Tulsa World reported that a $415 million bond package that Tulsa...
Florida Business Owner Arrested for $300K Workers’ Comp Scheme
May 4 2016 // An owner of a construction company in Orlando, Florida. is being charged with workers’ compensation premium fraud and engaging in an organized scheme to defraud, according to a statement from the Florida Department...
Vandal Causes $400K in Damage at South Dakota Construction Site
May 3 2016 // Police in Sioux Falls, S.D., are looking for the vandal who damaged construction equipment to the tune of $400,000. Police spokesman Sam Clemens says the vandal was able to turn on a backhoe and tipped over a pickup truck,...
Propel Insurance Hires McCormick in Washington for Construction Practice
May 3 2016 // Propel Insurance has named Michael McCormick a sales executive in the firm’s construction practice. McCormick will be working out of Propel’s Seattle, Wash. location. His prior experience includes sales at...
5 Reasons the ‘Primary and Noncontributory’ Requirement is Unethical, Ironic and Ridiculous
May 2 2016 // Several weeks ago I released an article questioning the need for the “primary and noncontributory” (PNC) requirement found in most construction contracts. I followed that article with a piece stating that the...
Ecuador Earthquake’s Death Toll Rises; AIR Worldwide Comments
Apr 18 2016 // World leaders from the Vatican to Washington offered support to Ecuador as casualties mounted following one of the strongest earthquakes to strike the South American country in decades. The number of dead has climbed to at...
1 Killed, 3 Injured as 45-Ton Beam Falls on Illinois Construction Site
Apr 7 2016 // Federal officials are investigating two companies after a construction worker was killed and three others were injured in suburban Chicago. The accident happened early on April 5 when a 40-ton steel bridge beam fell on the...
Novae Launches Construction Unit with Appointment of Cross
Apr 4 2016 // Novae Group plc, the specialist listed Lloyd’s insurer, announced that Steve Cross has joined as unit head – construction. He is based in London and reports to Stuart Heath, divisional head of property. Cross...
Oregon PGE Sues Backers of Construction Bond for $180M over Shoddy Work
Mar 31 2016 // A Portland, Ore.-based electricity provider that fired the contractor building its natural gas plant in Boardman is suing the backers of a bond guaranteeing construction. The East Oregonian reported Portland General...
The ‘Primary and Noncontributory’ Tool Or Why this Requirement Should Disappear
Mar 29 2016 // Upper tier contractors seek to avoid, through the use of various transfer mechanisms, the financial costs that can result from bodily injury or property damage to a third party caused or contributed to by other parties...
OSHA Issues Final Rule on Silica Exposure Protections; Industries Vow to Overturn
Mar 25 2016 // Capping a decades-long effort, U.S. workplace regulators on Thursday announced a final rule to boost protections against occupational exposure to crystalline silica, a carcinogenic dust ubiquitous in construction,...
Marsh Hires McDonough as Northeast Construction & Surety Practice Leader
Mar 17 2016 // Marsh announced that Rob McDonough is joining the broker to lead its Construction & Surety Practice in the Northeast. In this role, McDonough will be responsible for overseeing Marsh’s risk advisory and...
California Construction Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud
Mar 7 2016 // The owner of a Sacramento, Calif. construction company has pleaded guilty to tax evasion and workers’ comp insurance fraud. The Sacramento Bee reported that 47-year-old William Alan Huffman entered his plea last week...
Marsh Appoints Reeve as Head of First Party Claims, UK Specialties
Mar 3 2016 // Marsh announced with immediate effect the appointment of Gary Reeve as head of First Party Claims for its UK Specialties division. Reeve will report to Ian Martin, head of Claims for UK & Ireland. Reeve will act as a...
EPIC Adds Drew to Northern California Construction Practice
Feb 25 2016 // EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has added Trish Drew to the firm’s Northern California construction practice. Drew has more than 35 years of experience, and has focused on the risk management and insurance...
Texas Tornadoes Trigger Closer Look at Building Construction, Codes
Feb 24 2016 // Before the walls shook, before the two-by-fours twisted and the roof began tearing off, Amanda Bose saw news about the tornado on television. “Everybody in the bathroom — right now!” the 36-year-old mother...
Construction on Public Safe Rooms Around Joplin Nearly Complete
Feb 22 2016 // Thousands of students and residents in the Joplin area will have shelter during the upcoming severe weather season thanks to the construction of safe rooms that began after the deadly May 2011 tornado. The Joplin Globe...
How Employer Joint Liability Is Changing
Feb 18 2016 // Businesses known for their uniforms are worried about lawyers in business suits in the wake of a change in the nation’s labor laws affecting their liability for employment practices. The change could unravel the...
JLT Specialty USA Appoints Segall to Construction Practice Based in Atlanta
Feb 9 2016 // JLT Specialty USA has appointed Jeff Segall as SVP and Construction Risk leader in JLT’s U.S. Construction Practice. Segall will join JLT’s team working with large construction projects, including power...
New York’s Scaffold Law Under Scrutiny
Feb 8 2016 // The Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY) said New York’s Labor Law 240, better known as the Scaffold Law, continues to drive up the cost of construction in the state. LRANY warned that the law would consume...
