Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. Judge Nixes Shareholder Suit Against Pfizer Over Failed Drug
Feb 29 2008 // A U.S. federal judge Thursday granted Pfizer Inc.’s motion to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit that alleged the company hid information and made misleading claims about a failed experimental cholesterol drug in order to...
Alabama House Votes to Raise Auto Insurance Requirements
Feb 28 2008 // The state House approved legislation Tuesday that would bring Alabama in line with about half the South by raising the minimum amount of auto liability insurance that motorists must buy. The House voted 82-0 for...
Willis Exec Lists Industry ‘Megatrends’
Feb 28 2008 // Speaking to over 400 insurance industry executives at A.M. Best’s 15th Annual Review and Preview Conference in Naples, Fla., Tom Ealy, most recently COO of the Willis North America unit of Willis Group Holdings,...
Maryland May Relieve High Risk Drivers of Premium Financing Cost
Feb 28 2008 // State lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, the insurer of last resort for many motorists, to accept installment payments like private companies. Advocates say the...
Okla. Parents Urge Senators to Consider Autism Legislation
Feb 28 2008 // Parents facing financial ruin because their insurance companies will not pay for treatment of autistic children appealed for help from Oklahoma lawmakers earlier this week. They lobbied for revival of Nick’s Law,...
Court: Conn. Widow Can’t Pursue Claim Husband Was Worked To Death
Feb 27 2008 // The widow of a Connecticut Superior Court judge cannot pursue a lawsuit claiming the state worked her husband to death, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled. The high court struck down a special act of the legislature,...
After Brain Surgery Mistakes, R.I. Lawmakers Propose Tracking System
Feb 27 2008 // Rhode Island lawmakers are proposing a system to investigate and track medical mistakes and so-called “near misses” after brain surgeons at Rhode Island Hospital operated on the wrong side of patients’...
Pa. Judge Wants His Insurance Fraud Trial Moved To Pittsburgh
Feb 27 2008 // Former Pa. Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce wants his federal insurance fraud trial moved out of Erie to U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. Joyce’s attorney says news coverage of the case has generated enormous...
Judge Refuses to Reduce Charges in Tennessee Mosque Fire
Feb 27 2008 // A judge has refused to reduce charges against three men accused of burning down a mosque in Columbia, Tenn. Defense attorneys argued unsuccessfully Monday that the charges should be reduced to arson, instead of arson of a...
W. Va. Judge Upholds $196M Award against DuPont
Feb 27 2008 // A circuit judge in West Virginia has upheld a $196.2 million punitive damages award against DuPont in a class-action pollution case. Harrison County Circuit Court Chief Judge Thomas A. Bedell also ordered the Wilmington,...
Okla. Impeachments: Insurance Commissioner in 2004, Now Auditor
Feb 26 2008 // For the second time in four years, Oklahoma’s speaker of the House has convened a panel of lawmakers to investigate whether a statewide elected official should be impeached. But the eight-member panel that will...
Iowa Supreme Court Adds Twist to Medical Malpractice Opinion
Feb 25 2008 // The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday sent two medical malpractice lawsuits back to district court after offering a new opinion on how the statute of limitations can be interpreted. The decision, which affects a breast cancer...
Judge Narrows N.Y.-N.J. Port Authority’s 9/11 Insurance Claim
Feb 25 2008 // The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey can collect insurance only for damage inflicted on two buildings of the World Trade Center site destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, rather than for the entire complex, a U.S. District...
Congress Asked to Promote Wider Use of Motorcycle Helmets
Feb 24 2008 // U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters recently sent legislation to Congress that seeks greater flexibility for states to target one of the leading causes of motorcycle deaths across the nation: riding without a...
People
Feb 24 2008 // BMS, a reinsurance intermediary based in Philadelphia, has appointed James T. Buysse as chief executive officer of its North American operations, BMS Intermediaries Inc. Buysse has 25 years of experience in the reinsurance...
Calif. Bill Seeks to Ban Alleged Bias in Workers’ Comp Awards
Feb 24 2008 // A Democratic lawmaker is pushing legislation in California that would prohibit doctors from considering age, race or genetic factors in determining the size of workers’ compensation benefits for employees who suffer...
With Technology, the One Constant is Change
Feb 24 2008 // Keeping up with rapid developments is a challenge for professional liability experts If anything is certain in the world of technology, it’s that it is always changing — rapidly. Electronic and Internet...
Insurers Testify in Support of Kan. Flex Rating Bill
Feb 22 2008 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) recently testififed before members of a Kansas Senate panel urging passage of rate modernization legislation. Senate Bill 560 would establish a flex rating...
Judge: Trapped Miners Can Sue Company, Not 3 Others
Feb 22 2008 // Eight of the nine miners trapped underground in July 2002 when a Pennsylvania mineshaft flooded can continue their suit against the firm that controlled the mine, a judge ruled. Six other miners who narrowly escaped being...
Employers, Lawmakers Push Doctors to Adopt Electronic Prescriptions
Feb 22 2008 // Motivated by mounting medical costs, lawmakers and executives are urging doctors to embrace a seemingly simple way to save billions of dollars a year: prescribe medications online. Officials in the public and private...
