Latest West Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Panel Recommends New Business-Only Court in West Virginia
Mar 11 2011 // The West Virginia Supreme Court is being encouraged to create a new system to consider all business-related lawsuits. The recommendation comes from a six-member committee the court appointed last year in response to...
West Virginia’s BrickStreet Won’t Insure Firefighters, State Agencies
Mar 10 2011 // The company created by West Virginia to provide workers’ compensation insurance no longer wants to cover state agencies, prompting lawmakers to consider alternative policy options. The Senate Finance Committee...
Wrongful Death Suits Filed Against Massey Over West Virginia Mine Blast
Mar 8 2011 // The families of two coal miners killed in the Upper Big Branch mine blast in West Virginia last year filed wrongful death lawsuits against the mine’s owner, Massey Energy Co, saying it was a “catastrophe...
West Virginia Agents Balk At Health Insurance Exchange
Mar 8 2011 // With the Legislature’s minority Republicans already opposing the pending bill, West Virginia’s independent insurance agents are wary of this session’s bid to create a state-run health insurance...
West Virginia Backs Workers’ Compensation for Volunteer Firefighters
Mar 4 2011 // West Virginia lawmakers appear willing to help the state’s volunteer fire departments with their workers’ compensation expenses. The House and Senate exchanged bills this week that would dedicate insurance...
Security Officer at Massey West Virginia Mine Charged in Probe
Mar 1 2011 // The head of security at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine was arrested Monday on charges he impeded investigators and lied to them as they probed an explosion at the West Virginia mine that killed 29...
Massey Agrees to Medical Monitoring in West Virginia Slurry Case
Feb 25 2011 // Massey Energy will set up a medical monitoring fund for southern West Virginia residents who claim the company poisoned their wells with coal slurry. General Counsel Shane Harvey said a second mediation attempt failed to...
West Virginia Volunteer Fire Departments Seek Funding
Feb 24 2011 // West Virginia’s volunteer fire departments are turning to state lawmakers for help with insurance and recruitment. A bipartisan House bill introduced this week would tap liquor revenues to provide $5 million a year...
Judges Still Trying to Settle West Virginia Coal Slurry Lawsuit
Feb 23 2011 // Two judges will try again this week to settle a long-running medical monitoring lawsuit over claims that Massey Energy Co. poisoned hundreds of southern West Virginia wells with coal slurry. The first mediation attempt by...
Unpaid Workers’ Compensation Shuts West Virginia Fire Department
Feb 17 2011 // A volunteer fire department must stop answering calls because it failed to pay workers’ compensation premiums for its members. Marshall County emergency management director Tom Hart said the state fire...
West Virginia Changes Agent Licensing System
Feb 14 2011 // West Virginia is moving to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners state based system for issuing agent licenses in order to bring it in line with other states and streamline the licensing process. Starting in...
Ratings Roundup: Assurant, Brickstreet
Feb 2 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that its ratings on Assurant Inc. (BBB/Stable/A-2) and its related companies were unaffected by the announcement that Assurant will take a noncash goodwill impairment...
Cause of Deadly West Virginia Factory Blast Still Uncertain
Jan 27 2011 // The U.S. Chemical Safety Board believes either metal shavings or dust were the source of an explosion that killed three men in a West Virginia factory, but the investigator in charge said his team has yet to determine...
Equipment, Coal Dust Caused West Virginia Mine Blast: Probe
Jan 20 2011 // Federal investigators said Wednesday a small fire caused by a methane or natural gas leak likely set off a massive blast of coal dust that killed 29 miners at Massey Energy’s coal mine in West Virginia last...
Oh, Deer! West Virginia Herd Costing Insurers $44 Million a Year
Jan 13 2011 // West Virginia deer are causing excessive damage across the state and the Division of Natural Resources’ plan to manage the herd is deficient in addressing the problem, says a legislative audit released this...
West Virginia Judge Approves DuPont $70 Million Pollution Settlement
Jan 7 2011 // A pollution case involving a former zinc-smelter site in West Virginia has been resolved with DuPont agreeing to pay $70 million plus fund a medical monitoring program for area residents. DuPont and lawyers representing...
2010 Was U.S. Coal Industry’s Deadliest Since 1992
Jan 4 2011 // The U.S. coal industry had its deadliest year in nearly two decades in 2010, with much of the death toll stemming from a single explosion. As of last week, 48 miners had died in the nation’s 1,500 coal mines over the...
Inspections Reducing Mine Safety Violations: U.S. Official
Dec 28 2010 // Conducting special inspections to crack down on mines with poor safety records appears to be working, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said last week. The agency said it issued 250 citations and orders...
Insurer, Agent Help Rebuild West Virginia Fire Station
Dec 13 2010 // Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department is getting $10,000 from State Farm Insurance to help replace a fire station and three fire trucks destroyed in a blaze. The insurance company announced Friday it would donate the money...
West Virginia Jury Finds Official Defamed Employee Over Internet
Dec 3 2010 // A former Jefferson County employee has won a lawsuit that accused a county commissioner of defaming him with an Internet posting. Media outlets report that the jury ordered County Commissioner Patsy Noland to pay George...
