Declarations

Battling Ida

“They were literally fighting each wave. They did that for days.'”

—Ocean City, N.J. resident Bob Ashenbrenner, describing local officials’ efforts to reinforce breached dunes near his home as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida battered beaches along the Northeast coast. The storm killed at least six people and caused tens of millions of dollars worth of damage.

Trojan Donations

“We are taking legal action to unwind this set of sham transactions.”

—Pa. Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario, who has taken legal action against Canada-based Kingsway Financial Services Inc. over its attempt to divest Lincoln General Insurance Co. Last month, Kingsway donated the ownership over its troubled affiliate to 20 regional charities, in what Ario called a thinly veiled attempt to bypass its legal obligations.

Medical Mistakes Concealed

“Do we know more? No. The health care industry is as secretive as any you can imagine. And it doesn’t serve the public well.”

—Jean Rexford, executive director of Connecticut Center for Patient Safety, commenting on a report that claims loopholes in a law meant to improve reporting of medical mistakes let hospitals to keep errors secret.

Recession Helped Workplace Safety

“Industries that have historically accounted for a significant portion of fatalities (are where) the employment is down.”

—Denis McSweeney, New England regional commissioner for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, commenting on the impact the slowing economy has had on the number of workplace deaths in New England and elsewhere.Preliminary figures for the six-state region showed 136 workplace fatalities in 2008, down from 163 in the previous year.

Preserving and Restoring Value

“I look forward to assisting AIG in trying to preserve and restore as much value as possible for all of AIG’s stakeholders.”

—Former AIG CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, commenting on reports that he and AIG have ended an ongoing legal battle. AIG agreed to turn over materials Greenberg can use to write his memoir, as well as prized photographs and a Persian carpet. The settlement frees up the company’s resources to deal with the more pressing matter of repaying the government, which gave the company a $180 billion bailout to save it from collapse under soured mortgage bets last year. Greenberg had been locked in a costly and complicated legal tussle with the company dating back to his unhappy departure from the firm in 2005.

Topics AIG