Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Civil Trial Begins Into Sexual Abuse Claims by Ex-Patients at Virginia Children’s Hospital
Sep 17 2024 // Testimony has begun in a civil trial against a Virginia hospital that treats vulnerable children, its owner and its former medical director in a lawsuit filed by three former patients who allege they were touched...
Boar’s Head Closing Virginia Plant Linked to Deadly Listeria Outbreak
Sep 16 2024 // Boar’s Head said Friday it’s closing the Virginia plant tied to a deadly listeria outbreak. The Sarasota, Florida-based company said it will also permanently discontinue production of liverwurst, the product...
Fourth Coal Miner This Year Killed in West Virginia
Sep 9 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A coal miner was killed on the job in West Virginia on Friday night, Gov. Jim Justice said. The Republican governor said Gary Chapman, 33, of South Williamson, Kentucky, died after being injured...
Unison’s RCM&D Acquires Virginia Benefits Firm MillenGroup
Aug 30 2024 // Maryland-based insurance, benefits and risk management firm RCM&D announced the acquisition of MillenGroup, a Richmond, Virginia-based benefits advisory firm. Laura Millen, founder and senior managing partner, and John...
Cyber Risk: West Virginia OIC Plans to Dispose of Older Workers’ Comp Files
Aug 22 2024 // The West Virginia insurance commissioner’s office has adopted a new policy: It will soon begin destroying workers’ compensation claim files that are 10 years old or older. “Given increasing cybersecurity...
Virginia County Police Report Some Success Against High-End Theft Rings
Aug 22 2024 // It took seven people, 15 seconds and a fire extinguisher. With that, a seven-person crew from Pennsylvania made off with more than $60,000 in luxury goods from the Chanel store in the posh Tysons Galleria mall in northern...
Virginia’s New Bad Faith Law: What Insurers Need to Know
Aug 20 2024 // On July 1, 2024, new Virginia Code § 8.01-66.1 became effective and created a new bad faith cause of action that can be significant for underinsured or uninsured (UIM) carriers. The prior Va. Code § 8.01-66.1 did not...
West Virginia Governor Touts 20th-Straight Workers’ Comp Loss Cost Decrease
Aug 13 2024 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance is recommending a 9.1% decrease in workers’ compensation loss cost projections for the West Virginia voluntary market. If approved by regulators, it would mark the 20th...
Virginia Declares State of Emergency in Anticipation of Tropical Storm Debby
Aug 7 2024 // Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency for Virginia based on National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center forecasts that indicate the state could see significant rainfall and flooding from Tropical...
Woman Dies in West Virginia’s Second Coal Mine Fatality This Year
Jul 26 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia woman died Wednesday more than a week after an accident at a southern West Virginia coal mine, Gov. Jim Justice said. Ashley Cogar, 33, of Erbacon, was injured at the Wyco Surface...
West Virginia’s Ludewig Retires as Agency Joins with Leavitt Group
Jul 19 2024 // Longtime West Virginia insurance agent Charles Ludewig has decided to retire, paving the way for his agency to join the Leavitt Group, one of the largest privately held brokerages in the country. “I’m looking...
Religious Liberty Bars Priest’s Defamation Claim Against Bishop, Virginia Court Rules
Jul 18 2024 // A priest’s defamation claim against his bishop is barred by the religious liberty protections in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Virginia Constitution, a Virginia appeals court has ruled. The...
People Moves: Virginia Regulatory Agency Names Damico Chief Administrative Officer
Jul 16 2024 // Virginia’s business regulator authority, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), named Joseph F. Damico chief administrative officer. Damico will oversee administrative divisions responsible for the...
Lawsuit Against West Virginia Troopers Settled in Death of Maryland Man
Jul 12 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A judge approved a $1 million settlement Tuesday in a wrongful death lawsuit that accused West Virginia state police troopers of using excessive force on a Maryland man who was walking along a...
Markets/Coverages: High-End Home Insurer Openly Enters Virginia
Jul 10 2024 // Home insurer Openly has begun offering its coverage options to independent insurance agents and their policyholders in Virginia. Already active in 23 states, the upmarket home insurer said it is launching in Virginia with...
15 Firefighters Injured Fighting Virginia Warehouse Fire
Jul 9 2024 // Fifteen firefighters were injured fighting a large blaze at a fertilizer warehouse in South Hill, Virginia on Saturday. The firefighters were hospitalized due to chemical exposure, heat exhaustion and minors scrapes and...
Court Finds Virginia’s Punitive Damages Cap Applies Per-Plaintiff in Charlottesville Case
Jul 3 2024 // A federal appeals court has ruled that Virginia’s $350,000 punitive damages cap applies on a per-plaintiff basis in a case against white supremacists who organized the “Unite the Right” rally in...
Marshall Elected Chair of Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission
Jul 2 2024 // Wesley G. Marshall has been elected to a three-year term as chairman of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWC), effective July 1, 2024. He succeeds Commissioner Robert A. Rapaport, whose term ended June...
Dali Cargo Ship Leaves Baltimore for Virginia, Nearly 3 Months After Bridge Collapse
Jun 26 2024 // The cargo ship Dali headed out of Baltimore for Virginia on Monday, nearly three months after it lost power and crashed into one of the Francis Scott Key bridge’s supporting columns and caused the bridge to...
Fatal House Explosion in Virginia Blamed on Man Igniting Gasoline
Jun 12 2024 // A man who died in a house explosion six months ago outside the nation’s capital deliberately detonated gasoline canisters in his basement that caused the blast, authorities said Friday. Arlington County police in...
