Latest Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

N.Y. Assembly’s Anti-Concurrent Causation Bill Moves Forward

May 24 2013 // The New York State Assembly’s insurance committee on Thursday approved a bill that would prohibit the insurers’ use of anti-concurrent causation (ACC) clauses in the state. The bill, A07455, is now eligible to...

Judge Recuses Herself from West Virginia University Degree Lawsuit

May 24 2013 // U.S. District Judge Irene Keeley has disqualified herself from hearing a lawsuit filed over a 6-year-old degree scandal at West Virginia University, citing a federal statute that requires judges to step aside if their...

AIG Sues Ex-U.Va. Lax Player Over Insurance Claim

May 22 2013 // A former University of Virginia lacrosse player convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend is being sued by American International Group Inc. over his refusal to answer questions from insurance investigators. In a court filing...

New Lawsuit Filed Against West Virginia University in Degree Scandal

May 20 2013 // 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...

Insurers Pay $600K in Small Town West Virginia Racism Case

May 16 2013 // 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...

Report: 127 Killed on the Job in Virginia in 2011, 20 More Than Previous Year

May 14 2013 // A new labor union report says 127 workers were killed on the job in 2011 in Virginia, 20 more than the previous year. According to the report by the AFL-CIO, there were 4,693 workplace deaths nationwide in 2011, down by...

Labor Union Report: 43 Killed on the Job in West Virginia in 2011

May 13 2013 // A new labor union report says 43 workers were killed on the job in 2011 in West Virginia, down from 95 the previous year that included a mine blast that killed 29. According to the report by the AFL-CIO, there were 4,693...

West Virginia Man Convicted of Burning Duplex for Insurance

May 13 2013 // A federal jury in West Virginia has convicted a Logan County man of burning his duplex to collect insurance money. U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said on that 58-year-old Michael L. White of Chapmanville, W. Va., was found...

West Virginia Fiesta Dinnerware Maker Sues Over Knockoffs

May 10 2013 // West Virginia’s Homer Laughlin China Co. is suing two companies for selling what it claims are cheap Chinese imitations of its popular and collectible Fiesta dinnerware to an unsuspecting public. The Weirton Daily...

Virginia Website Tracks Farm Accident Reports

May 8 2013 // The Virginia Farm Bureau has launched a website for reporting farm accidents. The site, FarmAccidentReport.com, allows anyone to report accidents they witness on Virginia farms. Jimmy Maass is the Farm Bureau’s...

West Virginia Enforcing Texting While Driving Ban: 125 Convictions

May 7 2013 // In the first 10 months since a West Virginia law banned driving while texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone, 125 offenders have been convicted of doing just that. The Charleston Gazette said the number of...

Miners’ Union Takes Unusual Legal Turn to Save Benefits in Bankruptcy

May 1 2013 // As mineworkers and retirees battle to salvage their pensions and benefits from the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal Corp., lawyers for their union are trying an unusual gambit – and one that may be a test case for...

Hilb Group Buys Virginia-Based Brokerage Engle, Paxson & Hawthorne

Apr 24 2013 // The Hilb Group announced last week the acquisition of Engle, Paxson & Hawthorne Insurance Services (EPH) of Leesburg, Va. The transaction was effective April 1, 2013. Founded over a century ago, EPH serves residents...

Massive Overhaul of West Virginia Health System Urged

Apr 22 2013 // Few states spend as much on health care as West Virginia, but you wouldn’t know it from the results. That has a new study urging major changes, both for health services generally and the government agency that helps...

State Farm: 4,400 Wind-Hail Damage Claims in West Virginia in 2012

Apr 22 2013 // State Farm says the most common homeowner insurance claims in West Virginia are from wind and hail damage. The insurance company says there were nearly 4,400 such claims in the state last year. State Farm says the average...

West Virginia Supreme Court Fills Business Court Vacancy

Apr 16 2013 // Circuit Court Judge Thomas Evans III has been appointed to the West Virginia court system’s Business Court Division. The West Virginia Supreme Court said Chief Justice Brent Benjamin named Evans to replace former...

Driver Fatigue Causes 20% of Auto Crashes: Study

Apr 15 2013 // A 100-car “naturalistic” driving study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute says that fatigue is a cause of 20 percent of car crashes, rather than the two or three percent previously...

West Virginia Advances Limit on Nursing Home Liability

Apr 15 2013 // The West Virginia legislature has moved to limit the liability that nursing homes can face in potential lawsuits. The bill passed unanimously Saturday by the House explicitly applies the state’s Medical Professional...

Virginia Farm Bureau Ratings Downgraded by A.M. Best

Apr 11 2013 // A.M. Best Co. said Wednesday it has downgraded the financial strength rating of Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. in Richmond, Va., and its subsidiaries to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent). Additionally, Oldwick,...

Strickland Acquires Va.-Based MGA Tower Transportation Underwriters

Apr 8 2013 // Strickland Insurance Brokers Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldsboro, N.C.-based Strickland Insurance Group Inc., announced it has acquired the assets of Palmyra, Va.-based Tower Transportation Underwriters Inc. Tower...