Latest Texas Headlines

Texas Work Comp Division: Job Injuries, Illnesses Increased in 2006

Feb 29 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation reported that the number of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work in private industry in Texas increased in...

Texas Workers’ Comp Division Reports Disciplinary Actions for Dec., Jan.

Feb 29 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) announced final disciplinary actions taken by Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Albert Betts in December 2007 and January 2008....

Update: Residents of West Texas Town Moving on after Fire Scare

Feb 28 2008 // Spared the wrath of a fast-moving wildfire that shifting winds turned elsewhere, thankful residents of this small West Texas town worked Tuesday to get back in their routine. Schools were closed for the day but expected to...

Hundreds Evacuated as Thousands of Acres Burn across Texas

Feb 27 2008 // Firefighters across West and Central Texas continued to battle wildfires Tuesday that burned at least 200,000 acres, injured several people and forced the temporary evacuation of the 1,500 residents of Robert Lee, Texas,...

Former Dallas Cowboy Among Those Challenging Malpractice Award Cap

Feb 27 2008 // Former Dallas Cowboy Ron Springs, who has been in a coma since the fall following surgery to remove a cyst, is one of 11 plaintiffs challenging Texas’ medical malpractice cap in a lawsuit filed Monday. The lawsuit,...

Texas: 3 Workers Hurt when Floor Falls at San Antonio Construction Site

Feb 25 2008 // Three construction workers were hurt last week when the fourth floor of a building under construction collapsed in northwestern San Antonio. Fire officials say the construction site is at the Shops at La Cantera shopping...

Business Moves

Feb 24 2008 // Mercator, Tennant Risk Services Mercator Risk Services, a specialty wholesale insurance broker, acquired Tennant Risk Services Insurance Agency LLC, a Hartford, Conn.-based wholesale broker and underwriting manager. Terms...

South Central Agencies Recognized by Big ‘I’ for ‘Best Practices’

Feb 24 2008 // Two independent agencies from South Central states were among the six insurance firms from across the country recognized in January 2008 as “Top Performing Agencies” by the Independent Insurance Agents &...

Case Watch

Feb 24 2008 // Bad Faith Texas Mut. Ins. Co. v. Ruttiger Texas App. 1st Dist. Jan.17, 2008 Bad faith cause of action lies against workers’ compensation carrier. An individual was injured on the job. The workers’ compensation...

Feb 24 2008 // People Managing general agency and surplus lines wholesaler U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc. named Terri Haselden vice president and manager of the Dallas Commercial Underwriting Department. Haselden, an experienced...

Texas Supreme Court Reverses ‘Frank’s Casing’ Ruling

Feb 24 2008 // The Texas Supreme Court on Feb. 1 handed down a long-awaited ruling in a case that many believe to be one of Texas’ most significant insurance cases in recent history. The Court reversed its May 2005 decision in...

Business Moves

Feb 24 2008 // Higginbotham & Associates, ATMD Higginbotham & Associates announced a partnership with Allred-Thompson-Mason-Daugherty (ATMD) in an effort to broaden its Texas presence. ATMD is a general lines insurance agency...

Texas City to Impound Cars of Uninsured Drivers

Feb 24 2008 // The Corpus Christi (Texas) Police Department is going to start impounding the cars of uninsured drivers, officials said. About one in three Nueces County, Texas, drivers are uninsured, compared to about one in five...

Business Moves

Feb 24 2008 // Chartwell Independent Insurance Brokers Chartwell Independent Insurance Brokers LLC, a Los Angeles-based wholesale and specialty insurance broker focusing on high-risk, hard-to-place coverage, has opened a new office in...

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Rita Fraud

Feb 22 2008 // A Beaumont, Texas man pleaded guilty to making a false statement to FEMA in seeking disaster relief after Hurricane Rita. Wilyum Henderson, 50, entered the plea in federal court in Beaumont. The U.S. Attorney’s...

Texas Workers’ Comp Educational New Rules Sessions Set for March 13

Feb 22 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation will present two educational sessions, Newly Revised 2008 Hospital Fee Guidelines and Newly Revised 2008 Medical Fee Guidelines, sponsored by the...

Supreme Court Rejects Allstate Challenge to Texas Repair Shop Law

Feb 21 2008 // The U.S. Supreme Court this week rejected Allstate Corp.’s challenge to a Texas law that restricts insurance company ownership of auto collision repair shops. Allstate sought review of its case at the high court,...

Regulators Approve Texas Mutual Network Expansion

Feb 20 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance has approved Texas Mutual Insurance Company’s request to expand its workers’ compensation health care network service area, the Austin-based insurer announced. This latest...

Explosion Rocks West Texas Refinery

Feb 19 2008 // An explosion rocked an oil refinery in Big Spring, Texas, Monday morning in a violent blast that shook buildings miles away. According to various press reports, four plant employees were injured and three contract workers...

Texas Grand Jurors Suing to Disclose Evidence in Alleged Arson Case

Feb 15 2008 // Six members of a Houston grand jury that indicted a Texas Supreme Court justice and his wife over a house fire have filed a lawsuit so they can speak about evidence in the case. By law, grand jury proceedings are...