Insurance Journal » Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com Insurance Journal delivers the latest business news for the Property/Casualty insurance industry Sat, 25 May 2013 03:50:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 New Lawsuit Filed Against West Virginia University in Degree Scandal http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2013/05/20/292440.htm Mon, 20 May 2013 09:00:26 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=292440 Two former business school deans caught up in a master’s degree scandal six years ago are suing West Virginia University again, arguing the school has ignored its obligation to repair their tarnished reputations. Former dean Stephen Sears and former associate …

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]]> Insurers Pay $600K in Small Town West Virginia Racism Case http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2013/05/16/292258.htm Thu, 16 May 2013 16:14:06 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=292258 Insurance companies will pay $600,000 to a former officer who sued the Sophia Police Department over claims he was harassed and fired because he is black, Mayor Danny Barr said. That payout is more than the small West Virginia town’s …

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]]> Research Panel Recommends Steps to Help Mine Workers Escape in Emergencies http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2013/03/18/285006.htm Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:18:19 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=285006 Federal regulators and safety officials should consider requiring more backup air supplies and work to develop better breathing devices that would help the nation’s coal miners escape underground emergencies, a panel of experts said in a new report. The report …

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]]> West Virginia Cites 45 Violations After 2 Deaths at Mine http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2013/02/28/283144.htm Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:39:31 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=283144 State inspectors have issued 45 violations at a West Virginia coal mine since two men died there earlier this month, including one for negligently rigging the switch on a hoist with a piece of wood and a rusty bolt, according …

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]]> West Virginia Court Rules Negligent Mine Inspectors Can Be Sued http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2013/02/07/280438.htm Thu, 07 Feb 2013 13:51:54 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=280438 Private and federal mine safety inspectors can be held liable and sued when a negligent inspection results in the wrongful death of a coal miner, the state Supreme Court ruled in handing a victory to the widows of two men …

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]]> Former Massey Mine Executive to Enter Plea Next Month http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/12/14/274060.htm Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:20:31 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=274060 A former president of Massey Energy’s White Buck Coal Co. will enter a plea on federal conspiracy charges in January as prosecutors continue to investigate the 2010 explosion at another Massey operation that killed 29 men. David C. Hughart is …

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]]> West Virginia Mine Blast Probe Widens, Top Executives Could Be Next http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/11/30/272302.htm Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:33:39 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=272302 Federal prosecutors investigating the West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29 men have widened their net, filing criminal charges against a longtime Massey Energy executive who worked closely with former CEO Don Blankenship — a move signaling where their sights …

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]]> West Virginia Widows Press Case for Mine Inspectors’ Liability http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/08/21/259976.htm Tue, 21 Aug 2012 09:00:52 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=259976 The widows of two West Virginia coal miners killed in a 2006 fire want the state Supreme Court to rule that private and federal mine safety inspectors can be held legally liable when workers die as a result of their …

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]]> West Virginia High Court to Decide Mine Inspectors’ Liability for Deaths http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/07/19/256342.htm Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:08:17 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=256342 A federal appeals court said this week that the state Supreme Court should decide whether Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors can be held liable for coal miners’ deaths, calling it “a matter of exceptional importance for West Virginia.” The …

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]]> Prosecutors Say Alpha Has Improved Mine Safety Since West Virginia Settlement http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/06/19/252096.htm Tue, 19 Jun 2012 10:18:11 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=252096 Alpha Natural Resources has significantly cut its accident and injury rates in the six months since a landmark $210 million settlement that spared the company criminal charges over the 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 workers, federal prosecutors say. Alpha …

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]]> West Virginia Residents Settle Final Slurry Pollution Claims with Massey http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/06/14/251592.htm Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:23:39 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=251592 Hundreds of Boone County residents who blame coal companies for contaminating their water supplies settled their last remaining lawsuit with Massey Energy and four subsidiaries this week just as a trial was set to begin Tuesday. Both Massey’s new owner, …

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]]> Federal Healthcare Law to Aid Black Lung Victims http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/features/2012/04/16/243457.htm Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:00:43 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=243457 Proposed changes to U.S. Department of Labor rules would make it easier for coal miners and their families to obtain black lung benefits, while a West Virginia congressman aims to reduce the amount of paperwork they have to fill out …

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]]> West Virginia Mine Blast Survivors’ Cases Still Unsettled http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/04/11/242914.htm Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:36:31 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=242914 Nine men who survived West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine disaster want to abandon mediation of their personal injury claims and start gathering evidence for trial because they say the mine’s new owner isn’t negotiating in good faith. The miners …

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]]> New Federal Safety Rules for Mines Finalized http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/04/06/242383.htm Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:39:15 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=242383 Federal regulators are issuing a final set of rules for underground coal mine examinations that aim to hold operators more accountable for finding and fixing dangerous conditions — and preventing the deaths of their workers. The Mine Safety and Health …

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]]> Federal Healthcare Law to Aid Black Lung Victims http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/04/05/242257.htm Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:29:43 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=242257 Proposed changes to U.S. Department of Labor rules would make it easier for coal miners and their families to obtain black lung benefits, while a West Virginia congressman aims to reduce the amount of paperwork they have to fill out …

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]]> Judge Won’t Dismiss Massey Shareholder Suit Over Safety http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/03/30/241484.htm Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:00:57 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=241484 A federal judge refused Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit by former Massey Energy shareholders who say they were deliberately misled about the company’s safety record before the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West Virginia killed 29 men in 2010. …

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]]> Judge Combines West Virginia Slurry Pollution Cases http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/03/12/238871.htm Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:00:44 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=238871 The claims of hundreds of Boone County residents who blame coal companies for contaminating their water supplies will be heard in a single trial, a judge ruled last week. Circuit Judge William Thompson issued an order consolidating 155 individual medical …

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]]> Mine Safety Chief Seeks to End Complacency Over Safety http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/02/05/234229.htm Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:41:02 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=234229 If there’s one lasting cultural change Mine Safety and Health Administration Director Joe Main wants to make in both the federal agency and the industry it regulates, it’s ending the cycle of intensity and complacency. After every high-profile disaster, regulators …

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]]> Coal Mines Becoming Safer But Some Still ‘Don’t Get It,’ Says U.S. Regulator http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/02/03/234062.htm Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:58:25 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=234062 Coal operators across the country are changing the way they work, and mines are becoming safer, but the head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said Thursday there are still too many who “don’t get it.” In a …

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]]> Safety Crackdown Not Harming Mining Industry: Official http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2011/10/24/221247.htm Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:49:17 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=221247 The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration’s continuing crackdown on the coal industry hasn’t deterred the industry’s growth, director Joe Main said Friday. From April 2010 to June 2011, the number of underground mining employees grew by about 11 percent, …

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]]> DuPont Plantiffs in West Virginia Allowed to Seek Medical Monitoring http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/08/22/211815.htm Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:42:23 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=211815 A judge says 14 plaintiffs can enroll in a court-administered medical monitoring program even as they sue DuPont over a West Virginia zinc-smelting plant they say made them sick. Plaintiffs got copies of Harrison County Circuit Judge Thomas Bedell’s ruling …

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]]> Massey Wants to Know How $35M West Virginia Settlement Became Public http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/08/17/211313.htm Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:00:59 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=211313 Lawyers for Massey Energy Co. want to know who violated the confidentiality of a $35 million settlement agreement reached with hundreds of West Virginia residents who say the mining company poisoned their wells with coal slurry. In a motion filed …

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]]> Massey Offers $35 Million to Settle Coal Slurry Claim in West Virginia http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/08/11/210504.htm Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:19:11 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=210504 Massey Energy Co. has offered $35 million to settle a 7-year-old lawsuit with hundreds of southern West Virginia residents who say the mining company poisoned their drinking supplies with wastewater called coal slurry. The settlement proposed last month is confidential, …

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]]> Massey Settles Massive West Virginia Coal Slurry Case http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/07/29/208460.htm Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:03:25 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=208460 After a marathon mediation session that ended just before dawn Wednesday, mining company Massey Energy settled a 7-year-old lawsuit with hundreds of southern West Virginia residents who claim the company poisoned their drinking water supplies with coal slurry. Circuit Judge …

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]]> West Virginia Court Weighs Pollution Liability of Massey Subsidiary http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/07/25/207837.htm Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:45:53 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=207837 Three judges hearing a coal slurry pollution lawsuit against Massey Energy are considering whether the parent corporation should be held liable for the actions of a subsidiary it claims operated independently. Massey contends that Rawl Sales & Processing, the company …

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]]> Massey Agrees to Medical Monitoring in West Virginia Slurry Case http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/02/25/188198.htm Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:11:15 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=188198 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 settle every issue in a …

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]]> Judges Still Trying to Settle West Virginia Coal Slurry Lawsuit http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/02/23/187635.htm Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:46:15 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=187635 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 Judges Alan Moats and Derek …

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]]> DuPont Offers $70 Million to Settle West Virginia Pollution Case http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2010/11/29/115198.htm Sun, 28 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=115198 Chemical company DuPont last week offered to pay $70 million and spend millions more on medical monitoring for the next 30 years to end a legal battle over a toxic exposure case it lost in West Virginia. The proposal drew …

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]]> DuPont Worried About Publicity in West Virginia Zinc-Smelting Case http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2010/11/23/115121.htm Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=115121 DuPont will likely seek to sequester jurors in a 2011 trial that could determine whether it must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to some 8,500 West Virginians who won a toxic-exposure case three years ago. At a …

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]]> Safety Officials Warn 13 Mines in 7 States http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2010/11/22/115081.htm Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Vicki Smith http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=115081 Federal regulators late Friday warned 13 mining operations in seven states, including two owned by troubled Massey Energy Co., to show improvement on safety or face stricter enforcement. The Mine Safety and Health Administration says a 14th mining operation, Massey’s …

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