Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Waco Surf Park Hit with Suit Over Man’s Death From ‘Brain-Eating Amoeba’
Apr 18 2019 // The mother of a New Jersey man who died of a rare “brain-eating amoeba” after visiting a Texas surf resort has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the water park. Health officials say testing found evidence...
Texas Medical Providers to Pay $30K to Settle Disability Discrimination Suit
Apr 17 2019 // Tyler, Texas-based medical providers, Pulmonary Specialists of Tyler and Sleep Health, will pay $30,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by federal regulators. According to the lawsuit filed by U.S....
Experts Give Texas Mixed Reviews on Disaster Preparedness
Apr 17 2019 // More than a year and a half after Hurricane Harvey slammed into Texas, killing dozens, the state is still waiting on billions in federal recovery dollars. In the meantime, Texas lawmakers are looking to prepare the state...
Costs Add Up for Texas Fuels Storage Operator After Fire, Chemical Spill
Apr 16 2019 // The costs of a massive fire and chemical spill at a Houston petrochemical facility in March have begun trickling out, with a local official on Monday estimating emergency response costs at $800,000 for the first two weeks...
Proposed Bill Would End Texas’ Controversial Driver Responsibility Program
Apr 15 2019 // Texas’ Driver Responsibility Program (DRP) would be repealed under a bill considered by the Senate Finance Committee, the state Senate reported. The program has been heavily criticized for the financial burden it...
Deadly Storms Sweep Through Texas, Southern States
Apr 15 2019 // Powerful storms that rolled across the South over the weekend spawned tornadoes, damaged homes and killed at least four in Texas, including two children, authorities said. The Angelina County Sheriff’s Office said an...
People
Apr 15 2019 // National American International Group has named Carla Ferrara as head of communications for AIG’s Investments organization. Ferrara will be based in New York and report to Elaine Rocha, chief operating officer of AIG...
Higginbotham University Strives to Be ‘Best in Texas and Beyond’
Apr 15 2019 // Mike Bateman, managing director, Sales, for Dallas-based Higginbotham has invested a lot of time and money into making the firm’s “Higg University” a reality. Launched in 2016, the University is the...
Automation, Artificial Intelligence Part of Plan for Modernizing Texas Insurance Department
Apr 15 2019 // Becoming the chief insurance regulator of a large and populous state with the second largest insurance market in the country was never in Kent Sullivan’s game plan. But when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked Sullivan to...
Listeria Concerns Prompt Recall of 3.3K Pounds of Foods from Texas Company
Apr 12 2019 // A Texas company has recalled more than 3,300 pounds (1496.87 kilograms) of ready-to-eat meat, poultry and salad products amid concerns about possible listeria contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday...
Texas Releases New Guidelines for Insurer Catastrophe Data Collection, Reporting
Apr 12 2019 // Applying lessons learned after Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Department of Insurance has upgraded its procedures for collecting and reporting data following a disaster. TDI recently released its new catastrophe data...
Two Texas Companies Charged in Separate Workers’ Comp Fraud Cases
Apr 11 2019 // Two Texas companies have been indicted by Travis County grand juries in separate cases involving alleged workers’ compensation premium fraud. The Texas Department of Insurance reported that Amer Haurani of Ambassador...
Arkema NA, Executive Now Face Assault Charges From 2017 Texas Chemical Plant Fire
Apr 11 2019 // A Texas grand jury on April 10 indicted chemicals manufacturer Arkema North America and one of its executives on assault charges, alleging they underplayed the dangers of a fire that injured two emergency workers called to...
161 Died in Work Zone Crashes in Texas in 2018 Despite Decrease in Incidents
Apr 10 2019 // In spite of a decrease in work zone crashes in Texas last year, 161 people still lost their lives and another 684 were seriously injured, with the vast majority of those killed — 84 percent — being motorists and/or...
Contractors: Company Knew About Valve Leak Before Texas Chemical Plant Fire
Apr 10 2019 // Three contractors who worked at a Houston-area chemical plant say in a lawsuit that the company knew that a flammable gas was leaking before a deadly fire erupted but did not order an evacuation. The Houston Chronicle...
Combined Agents of America Expands into Colorado, Adds 7 New Agencies
Apr 10 2019 // Austin, Texas-based Combined Agents of America (CAA) has expanded into Colorado, with the addition of Renaissance Insurance Group in Windsor, Colorado. CAA is an agency partnership organization whose members now include...
Why Has Texas Decided to Break Tradition and Immediately Sue Industrial Polluters?
Apr 9 2019 // Late last month as crews worked to contain a roaring fire at a Houston-area petrochemical storage facility, the state of Texas did something unheard of, at least in recent memory: It sued the company that operates the site...
Hoppe Joins BevCap Management in Texas as Claims, Risk Management Director
Apr 9 2019 // BevCap Management in McKinney, Texas, has added Curtis Hoppe as director of Claims and Risk Management. Hoppe brings over 24 years of professional experience in auto liability, general liability and workers’...
Workers Injured at Texas Chemical Plant Damaged by Fire File Suit
Apr 8 2019 // A growing number of lawsuits are springing from the ashes at a Houston-area chemical plant that caught fire this week killing a worker. Two plant employees filed separate state suits Wednesday against KMCO LLC, claiming...
Chemical Plant Fires Renew Safety Debate in Oil-Friendly Texas
Apr 7 2019 // Two major chemical plant fires near Houston just 17 days apart closed schools, leaked toxic chemicals into coastal waters and killed a worker, but there’s a good chance they won’t lead to big industry...