Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Business Moves
Jul 5 2010 // Arthur J. Gallagher, Joseph James & Associates Illinois-based insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., has acquired Joseph James & Associates of Dublin, Ohio. Terms of...
West Virginia’s BrickStreet Faces Competition for Government Accounts
Jul 5 2010 // West Virginia’s state-created workers’ compensation insurers is expecting to lose million of dollars in government agency contracts following the opening of the market to other carriers on July 1. One by one,...
$25M Lawsuit Filed over 2008 Virginia Shooting Rampage
Jul 2 2010 // A $25 million wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in connection with a 2008 shooting rampage in Virginia that left one man dead and two other people injured. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Wythe County...
Safety Agency Dropped 7 West Virginia Mines from Violator List
Jul 1 2010 // Plans to crack down on seven West Virginia coal mines with a history of excessive health and safety violations were dropped because of a lack of money, the industry’s chief federal regulator said this week. The West...
West Virginia Motorcycle Fatalities Decline
Jun 30 2010 // Motorcycle-related fatalities are declining in West Virginia. Only seven motorcycle-related fatalities have occurred in the state so far this year. Governor’s Highway Safety Program manager Barbara Lobert says 25...
Massey Fights Safety Regulator Over West Virginia Mine Probe
Jun 30 2010 // Troubled coal producer Massey Energy Co. has taken legal action against the industry’s chief safety regulator for the second time in a week. Massey said it is appealing a federal Mine Safety and Health Administration...
West Virginia Women Who Won DuPont Toxin Suit Sue Again
Jun 29 2010 // Two West Virginia women who won a class-action lawsuit against DuPont over long-term exposure to toxins from a former zinc-smelting plant are suing again, this time seeking damages for dozens of ailments they say were...
West Virginia Court OKs Suits Against Insurers Under Human Rights Law
Jun 25 2010 // West Virginians can bring bad faith lawsuits against insurance companies under the state’s human rights act, the state Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled. The court found that the West Virginia Human Rights Act...
West Virginia Mine Operator Massey Fined for Minor Violations
Jun 24 2010 // Massey Energy Co. has been fined more than $6,000 for mostly minor safety violations found during an investigation of the nation’s deadliest coal mining disaster in 40 years, according to the federal Mine Safety and...
2 West Virginia County Agencies Drop Insurer BrickStreet
Jun 21 2010 // Two Kanawha County agencies have decided not to use a state-created insurance program for workers’ compensation coverage. Both have told BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. that its proposed rates have prompted them to...
Insurance Hikes for West Virginia Voluntary Fire Departments Delayed
Jun 18 2010 // Workers’ compensation premium increases for volunteer fire departments are being postponed for a year while lawmakers address firefighter safety and liability issues, Gov. Joe Manchin said. Manchin said he hopes to...
West Virginia Voluntary Fire Units’ Insurance Hikes Raise Concern
Jun 17 2010 // West Virginia House Speaker Rick Thompson wants the state to delay workers’ compensation premium increases for volunteer fire departments. BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. announced the premium increases in May....
West Virginia Delays Black Lung Insurance Premium Hikes
Jun 15 2010 // West Virginia insurance regulators have put black lung premium increases on hold. The National Council on Compensation Insurance asked Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline’s office in May to increase rates for black...
Subpoenas Issued in West Virginia Mine Explosion Investigation
Jun 15 2010 // Government investigators have begun issuing subpoenas to reluctant witnesses to the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in 40 years, accordng to West Virginia’s mine safety director. The five subpoenas issued...
Judge: Stricter Regulation at Massey West Virginia Mine Not Justified
Jun 10 2010 // An administrative law judge ruled this week that there was no pattern of violations that would lead to stricter regulation at a Massey Energy Co. mine in Virginia. A Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission judge...
Inspectors Say No Problems Found in West Virginia Mine After 1 Day
Jun 9 2010 // Teams found no problems Monday during a daylong expedition inside the West Virginia coal mine where 29 men died in the industry’s worst disaster in 40 years, officials said. Teams entered Massey Energy Co.’s...
Explosion at West Virginia Natural Gas Drilling Site Burns 7
Jun 8 2010 // A fireball and explosion burned seven members of a crew drilling for natural gas at an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia Monday, the second big fire at an energy formation known as the Marcellus Shale in less than a...
Hartford Affiliate Pays $67K in Restitution to Virginia Customers
Jun 8 2010 // An affiliate of The Hartford has paid nearly $67,000 in restitution to policyholders in Virginia, following an investigation by state regulators over premiums charged by Trumbull Insurance Co. The company agreed to a...
Judge: Policy Didn’t Cover Chinese Drywall Damage
Jun 7 2010 // An insurance company doesn’t have to pay for damages at a Virginia man’s home ruined by Chinese-made, sulfur-emitting drywall, a decision by a federal judge Thursday that could affect how lawsuits by thousands...
West Virginia Court Refuses to Modify DuPont $100 Million Damages
Jun 4 2010 // The West Virginia Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its decision involving DuPont and punitive damages arising out of a pollution case. Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont asked the court to reconsider a ruling it issued...
