Latest Rhode Island Headlines
All the headlines from our Rhode Island Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lloyd’s Dropped from R.I. Nightclub Suit
Dec 12 2005 // A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered Lloyd’s of London dropped from a civil lawsuit filed by victims of the 2003 fire at the Station nightclub. Finding that the insurance policy issued to nightclub owner...
Landlords Challenge New R.I. Lead Paint Law Over Exemptions
Dec 9 2005 // A group of landlords went to court Wednesday to ask a judge to strike down the state’s new lead paint law, saying it unfairly exempts certain property owners from following the regulations. Superior Court Judge...
R.I. Blues Receives Initial Green Light for For-Profit Wellness Subsidiary
Nov 29 2005 // Despite a petition from the state attorney general, the state’s top insurance regulator has conditionally approved Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s plan to create a for-profit subsidiary. Health...
Former Health Official Cross-Examined in R.I. Lead Paint Trial
Nov 29 2005 // The former director of the Rhode Island Department of Health acknowledged Monday as she was cross-examined in the state’s lawsuit against former lead paint manufacturers that the department’s own Web site says...
R.I. Researchers to Create Tsunami Hazard Maps for East Coast
Nov 25 2005 // Two University of Rhode Island researchers have been awarded an $86,000 grant from FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers, to create maps of the East Coast of the U.S. that will identify...
Judge Declines to Declare Mistrial in R.I. Lead Paint Case
Nov 17 2005 // A Rhode Island judge in a Providence courtroom called a prosecutor’s question to a witness prejudicial and irrelevant, but refused on this week to declare a mistrial in the state’s lawsuit against the companies...
Insurer and 2 Inspection Firms Dismissed from R.I. Nightclub Trial
Nov 13 2005 // A federal judge in Providence dismissed an insurance company and two other defendants from a civil lawsuit brought by survivors of a deadly 2003 Rhode Island nightclub fire and by relatives of those who died. U.S. District...
R.I. Nightclub Owners Testify About Finances At Bankruptcy Hearing
Nov 10 2005 // The brothers who owned a Rhode Island nightclub where 100 people died in a 2003 fire offered detailed testimony about their finances for more than three hours this week as part of their ongoing bankruptcy...
Rhode Island Nightclub Trial Told There Was No Warning About Foam’s Dangers
Nov 9 2005 // A salesman who sold the flammable foam that spread a deadly fire through a Rhode Island nightclub in 2003 said it was his company’s policy to not warn customers of the potential dangers of the product, according to...
R.I. Approves NORCAL’s 10%, JUA’s 70% Med-Mal Rate Hikes
Nov 2 2005 // The R.I. Department of Business Regulation has approved a 10 percent rate hike for NORCAL Mutual Insurance Co., the state’s largest medical malpractice insurer, effective Jan. 1, 2006. The department has also agreed...
R.I. Nightclub Owners Submit List of Assets After Filing for Bankruptcy
Oct 23 2005 // The owners of a West Warwick, Rhode Island nightclub where a fire killed 100 people submitted a list of their assets in a Providence court last week, providing a detailed view of their finances a month after filing for...
R.I. Court Mandates Mediation for All Med-Mal Cases in Providence County
Oct 18 2005 // Hoping to streamline the handling of cases, the Rhode Island Superior Court is experimenting with a mandatory mediation program for all medical malpractice cases assigned to the trial calendar in Providence County. Since...
R.I. Governor Proposes Plan for Better Health System By 2010
Oct 4 2005 // Saying that affordable health care should be within the reach for all Rhode Islanders, Governor Donald L. Carcieri this week laid out a series of five initiatives to improve the state’s system of care by the eyar...
R.I. Grants 2.3% Hike in ProSelect’s Rates for Physicians
Oct 4 2005 // Medical insurer ProSelect has received approval for an average 2.3 percent increase in physicians’ and surgeons’ medical malpractice insurance rates in Rhode Island. However, the insurer lost its bid for an...
R.I. Would Gain $3.7 Million By Adopting Primary Seat Belt Law
Oct 2 2005 // Rhode Island is eligible for a $3.7 million grant if it strengthens its seat belt law to allow law enforcement officers to stop and issue citations to motorists based solely on a seat belt violation, which is referred to...
R.I. Workers’ Comp Rate Cut to be Heard at Nov. 16 Hearing
Sep 28 2005 // Workers’ compensation carriers have filed for a slight 2.3 percent overall reduction in loss costs in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation has scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 16 on the...
Rhode Island Radio Station Denied in Bid to be Removed from Nightclub Fire Lawsuit
Sep 28 2005 // Radio station WHJY will remain a defendant in a civil lawsuit resulting from The Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island. The lawsuit filed on behalf of 146 survivors and 80 victims’ families names the radio station...
R.I. Nightclub Owners’ Bankruptcy Filing Stays Workers’ Comp Court Trial
Sep 25 2005 // The owners of a Rhode Island nightclub where a fire killed 100 people filed for bankruptcy last Friday, saying they faced a staggering amount of debt and could no longer pay off their creditors. Jeffrey and Michael...
News Briefs
Sep 5 2005 // MASSACHUSETTS Fed Probe Firing of MassMutual CEO: Federal prosecutors are investigating the conduct that led to the firing of former MassMutual Insurance Comany chief executive Robert J. O’Connell, the company...
DRUNK DRIVING LAWS FAIL TO PASS:
Sep 5 2005 // Rhode Island has some of the weakest drunken driving laws in the nation, and was the only state to receive a “poor” rating in a survey of legislation to reduce drunken driving, according to a national highway...
