Latest Virginia Headlines

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

West Virginia’s Expanding Brickstreet Mutual Outsources Public Relations

Apr 20 2009 // West Virginia workers’ compensation carrier BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. says it’s getting rid of its in-house public relations and communications office. BrickStreet president and chief executive Greg...

Massey Energy Fined $2.5 Million for Fatal West Virginia Mine Fire

Apr 17 2009 // A Massey Energy subsidiary was fined $2.5 million fine this week after a federal judge accepted the company’s guilty plea to 10 criminal charges for a fire that killed two West Virginia coal miners. U.S. District...

Jury Awards Virginia Woman $3.2M in Ikea Accident

Apr 16 2009 // A woman whose pelvis was crushed when more than 350 pounds of countertops suddenly fell on her at Ikea has been awarded $3.2 million by a Fairfax County jury. Xiaolei Zeng, of Arlington, says a stack of four countertops...

DuPont: West Virginia Court Should Overturn Smelter Case

Apr 10 2009 // Chemical maker DuPont urged the West Virginia Supreme Court to fix what it called mistakes that led to a nearly $400 million verdict against the company by overturning the case. The court can order a new trial or even...

Keystone Insurers Group Realigns Top Management

Apr 2 2009 // Northumberland, Pennsylvania-based Keystone Insurers Group has hired five new executives and restructured its top management team in a move aimed at boosting growth and enhancing services, the company said. Ralph...

West Virginia House Targets Drivers’ Cell Phone Use

Mar 31 2009 // If you’re on the phone while driving and have your hands on your cell instead of the wheel, that could mean a misdemeanor charge in West Virginia. Legislation passed 80-18 by the House to the Senate aims to limit...

Use of Coal Ash in Virginia Golf Course Prompts $1B Lawsuit

Mar 30 2009 // Chesapeake, Virginia residents who live near a golf course that was built in part with coal ash are seeking more than $1 billion in damages. Attorneys representing nearly 400 people filed a lawsuit in Chesapeake Circuit...

Massey Energy Foreman to Change Plea On West Va. Safety Drills

Mar 30 2009 // Massey Energy foreman is expected to plead guilty to one misdemeanor charge stemming from his failure to conduct required safety drills. U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver has scheduled an April 9 hearing on David...

Business Moves

Mar 23 2009 // Auto Club Insurance, MEEMIC Auto Club Insurance Association, a Dearborn, Michigan-based insurer, reported it has agreed to acquire MEEMIC Insurance Co. and its insurance agency affiliate, MEEMIC Insurance Services...

Virginia Court Voids Malpractice Policy Due to Material Misrepresentation

Mar 23 2009 // In an unusual case, a federal court in Virginia has found that a law firm’s malpractice policy can be voided because a partner failed to disclose to the firm’s insurance company that he had embezzled money from...

Business Moves

Mar 23 2009 // BrickStreet Mutual Workers’ compensation insurer BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. wants to expand into Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Illinois. President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Burton says...

West Virginia Lawmakers Delay Drunk Driver Lock Expansion

Mar 18 2009 // A proposal to put interlocks in the vehicles of every West Virginian convicted of drunken driving appears to be on hold this year while lawmakers await the results of an earlier expansion of the program. But a West...

West Virginia’s BrickStreet Mutual Names Allstate’s Laska as CIO

Mar 16 2009 // Tony Laska has joined workers’ compensation insurer BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. as its senior vice president and chief information officer. Laska comes to West Virginia from the Chicago area, where he had been...

Virginia Court Voids Malpractice Policy Due to Material Misrepresentation

Mar 12 2009 // In an unusual case, a federal court in Virginia has found that a law firm’s malpractice policy can be voided because a partner failed to disclose to the firm’s insurance company that he had embezzled money from...

UK’s Admiral Auto Insurance to Open Virginia Operations Center

Mar 9 2009 // The American subsidiary of a United Kingdom-based auto insurer says it’s going to open an operations center and bring 40 to 50 jobs to the Richmond area. Admiral Americas and the Greater Richmond Partnership...

Bankruptcy Won’t Help West Virginia Doctor Avoid Malpractice Payments

Mar 9 2009 // A former West Virginia doctor will not be able to use his Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing in Birmingham to block payments in scores of malpractice cases after a federal bankruptcy judge ruled he was hiding assets. The order...

West Va. Insurance Authority Eyed

Mar 9 2009 // West Virginia gives its insurance department a lot of leeway in regulating workers’ compensation. But a new House bill would require the department to get legislative approval for workers’ compensation...

West Virginia’s Workers’ Comp Writer BrickStreet to Expand Into Other States

Mar 3 2009 // Workers’ compensation insurer BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. wants to expand into Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Illinois. President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Burton says the West...

Insurance Fraud Arrests and Convictions on the Rise in Virginia

Mar 3 2009 // The Insurance Fraud Program (IFP) of the Virginia State Police said it made 307 arrests for insurance fraud last year — a 47 percent increase over the previous year. In addition, convictions for insurance fraud in...

Texting While Driving Ban Passes Virginia Senate

Feb 26 2009 // OMG! Texting your BFF while driving could soon cost you. The Senate voted 33-6 Tuesday to pass Del. John Cosgrove’s bill to ban sending or reading text messages or e-mail while driving. The House passed the...