Figures

$1.4 billion

The amount sought in a suit accusing Allstate Insurance Co. of using delay tactics and schemes to prod soft-tissue injury victims into accepting lower offers for pain and suffering. A jury in Lexington, Ky., rejected the claim of Geneva Hager of Richmond and ruled in favor of Allstate Insurance Co.

7,000

The number of West Virginia citizens for whom a jury said DuPont Co. must provide medical monitoring following their exposure to chemical and lead contamination from a waste site at a former Harrison County smelter. The verdict came in the trial of a class-action lawsuit filed by 10 residents who accused DuPont of deliberately dumping dangerous heavy metals on an industrial site there. The jury found that DuPont must finance medical monitoring for the next 40 years.

5

The number of fires in five separate buildings in northeastern Tennessee that erupted within 30 minutes early Oct. 8. Three barns and two unoccupied homes went up in flames. The fires are being investigated.

16,402

The number of vehicles stolen in South Carolina in 2006, up from 16,358 a year before, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The 1995 Honda Accord was the most likely auto to be stolen in South Carolina. The 1999 Chevrolet full size C/K 1500 pickup ranked second on the list.

2

The number of full-fledged hurricanes the U.S. can expect in the final months of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, according to forecasters at Colorado State University. Overall, the October-November period is expected to see a total of four named storms, two of which could become hurricanes with one becoming a major hurricane with winds of 111 mph or greater (Category 3-4-5). As of Oct. 1, 13 named storms, four hurricanes and two major hurricanes had developed this season.

100

The number of accidents at American laboratories handling the world’s deadliest germs and toxins since 2003, according to The Associated Press, which also reported that and the number is increasing steadily as more labs across the country are approved to do the work.