Latest West Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
W.Va. Probe Finds Lightning Set Off Sago Mine Explosion
Dec 8 2006 // After nearly a year of studying the Sago Mine disaster, West Virginia state investigators have concluded that an unusually powerful lightning strike somehow ignited methane gas underground, a United Mine Workers official...
Court-Appointed Scientists Say Teflon Health Studies Could Take Years
Nov 17 2006 // Ohio and West Virginia residents who sued DuPont over a chemical used to produce Teflon may have to wait up to five years before learning if their health has been adversely affected by the substance, members of a science...
Work Begins on New State Fire Academy in W. Va.
Nov 16 2006 // Construction has started on a new state fire academy in Lewis County, West Virginia. The $6.3 million building, scheduled to be finished in June near the Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Conference Center, will replace the...
Report Cites Safety Violations in Two West Virginia Mine Deaths
Nov 15 2006 // State and federal regulators failed to find safety violations that contributed to the deaths of two miners in a conveyor belt fire at an underground coal mine in January, according to an independent report. But J. Davitt...
Medical Malpractice Market in W. Va. Improves
Nov 15 2006 // Medical malpractice insurance in West Virginia, once a money-losing business, has become a profit machine for insurers as the number of lawsuits filed against doctors has declined, a report by the state Insurance...
West Virginia Launches Online Workers’ Comp Validation System
Oct 17 2006 // Instantaneous validation of employer workers’ compensation coverage is now available online in West Virginia. The Coverage Validation System (CVS) provides government agencies, contractors and other businesses that...
West Virginia county courthouse fire reveals gaps in insurance coverage
Sep 25 2006 // The fire that destroyed the Morgan County, W. Va., courthouse last month has raised questions about whether other counties are insuring buildings adequately. Only 24 of 55 counties insure their courthouses through the...
Lawyers Seek to Lift W. Va. Ban on Certain Bad Faith Suits
Sep 19 2006 // While West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin and the insurance industry credit last year’s ban on “third party, bad faith” lawsuits for $77 million in policy rate cuts, Jenny Bonham believes it helped one insurer...
Courthouse Fire in W. Va. Reveals Insurance Gap
Sep 15 2006 // The fire that destroyed the Morgan County, W. Va., courthouse last month has prompted lawmakers to question whether other counties are insuring such buildings adequately. Only 24 of 55 counties insure their courthouses...
Jury Awards $10M Against W. Va. Hospital
Sep 8 2006 // A Morgantown, West Virginia, woman has won a $10 million verdict against Ruby Memorial Hospital for pain and suffering caused by an infection she contracted during a 1995 knee operation. The hospital plans to ask...
W. Va. Grapples with ATV Safety
Sep 5 2006 // While the number of adult males dying in all-terrain vehicle accidents in West Virginia continues to rise, legislators still think the focus of their safety efforts should be on children. “In some way, we need to...
Study Hits States Without Helmet Laws
Aug 24 2006 // According to a study by Jeffrey Coben, M.D., a researcher at West Virginia University, states that do not require motorcycle riders and passengers to wear helmets may be contributing to the unnecessary deaths,...
Judge Dismisses Suit Over W. Va. Sago Coal Mine Safety
Aug 24 2006 // A federal judge this week threw out a lawsuit by coal miners that demanded the government do more to ensure that miners have working oxygen supplies and know how to use them. The lawsuit was filed in June after Congress...
Every W. Va. employer targeted for workers’ comp audit
Aug 21 2006 // West Virginia’s workers’ compensation insurance provider has a lofty goal: to audit every one of West Virginia’s 38,000 employers this year. That would require an unprecedented 200 audits a day, and may...
Every W. Va. employer targeted for workers’ comp audit
Aug 21 2006 // West Virginia’s workers’ compensation insurance provider has a lofty goal: to audit every one of West Virginia’s 38,000 employers this year. That would require an unprecedented 200 audits a day, and may...
State Farm to Reduce W.Va. Homeowners Rates
Aug 9 2006 // State Farm announced Tuesday in Charleston, W.Va. it is lowering homeowners insurance rates in West Virginia by an average of 5 percent starting in December. It marked the first time since 1989 that State Farm has won...
Tyler County, W. Va. Agent Pleads Guilty to Fraud
Aug 4 2006 // West Virginia officials say a longtime Tyler County insurance agent has pleaded guilty to fraud. Sistersville resident Bennie H. Kile Jr. of the Kile Insurance Agency admitted he took money and promised customers insurance...
W. Va. Now Requires Certification, Insurance for Home Inspectors
Aug 3 2006 // To help protect consumers against fraud, all West Virginia home inspectors will have to be certified by the State Fire Commission. The new law went into effect August 1. Under the new state law passed in April, all...
W. Va. Employers Face BrickStreet Deadline Today
Aug 1 2006 // West Virginia employers who haven’t made a premium payment for the second half of 2006 to insurer BrickStreet have one last opportunity to retain workers’ compensation coverage. BrickStreet mailed more than...
BrickStreet Vows to Audit Every W. Va. Employer for Workers’ Comp
Aug 1 2006 // West Virginia’s workers’ compensation insurance provider has a lofty goal: to audit every one of West Virginia’s 38,000 employers this year. That would require an unprecedented 200 audits a day, and may...
