Claims Journal

Nevada Church Asks Us Supreme Court for 2nd COVID Cap Review

RENO, Nev. — Unsuccessful in an earlier bid for an emergency injunction, a Nevada church is asking the U.S. Supreme Court again to consider its challenge of coronavirus restrictions on religious gatherings as a test case for others brought by …

Posted: Nov 09, 2020

Portland, Oregon Commissioner’s Home Vandalized After Vote

PORTLAND, Ore. — People in Portland threw flares and paint-filled balloons at the house of a city commissioner for Oregon’s largest city after he cast the deciding vote against cutting $18 million from city’s police budget, authorities said. The vand...

Posted: Nov 09, 2020

Washington Supreme Court: Farmworkers to Get Overtime Pay

SEATTLE — A divided Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday the state’s dairy workers are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours a week, a decision expected to apply to the rest of the agriculture industry. For …

Posted: Nov 09, 2020

Demolition Starts on Big Ship Stranded 14 Months Off Georgia

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Using a heavy anchor chain like a saw, a towering crane Friday began cutting apart a cargo ship that’s been stranded on the Georgia coast since it overturned nearly 14 months ago. Demolition of the South Korean …

Posted: Nov 09, 2020

Her Car Was Crushed In Hurricane Zeta, Days After She Moved

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Looking back, there’s always that fateful moment. Coming home with hurricane supplies a few hours before Hurricane Zeta struck, Kimberly Laque parked her 1997 Honda CRV in front of Z’otz Cafe, about 30 feet back from …

Posted: Nov 09, 2020

NCCI Says Fewer Miles Driven During Pandemic Means Fewer Comp Claims

The COVID-19 pandemic comes with one bright spot for workers’ compensation insurers: Fewer workers are being injured in motor vehicle accidents. A research brief issued by the National Council on Compensation Insurance last week projects that workers...

Posted: Nov 07, 2020

In Virus Era, Bubbles Provide Game-Changing Lessons Learned

The NBA wants to be back in December. The NHL is aiming at games resuming in January. Baseball’s spring training may begin in February, like normal. They almost certainly won’t be in bubbles if and when any or all of …

Posted: Nov 06, 2020

Masters Without Golf Fans Pushing Augusta Hotels to Delinquency

For Augusta’s lodging market, the Masters really is a tradition unlike any other — one that puts well-coiffed heads in hotel beds, and lifts room rates like a 9 iron. This year, the annual golf tournament was postponed from its …

Posted: Nov 06, 2020

Cardinal Health, Amerisource See $13 Billion Opioid Deal

Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. have each reserved about $6.6 billion to settle claims that drug distributors fueled the U.S. opioid epidemic by flooding communities with the highly addictive painkillers, according to regulatory fili...

Posted: Nov 06, 2020

School District Fires Marine Vet Over Medical Marijuana Use

OCALA, Fla. — A Florida high school dean has been fired after he tested positive for marijuana, even though it had been prescribed for him by a doctor to treat post-traumatic stress disorder he incurred in the Marines. The Marion …

Posted: Nov 06, 2020

Weakened Eta Drenches Honduras; Could Reach Gulf of Mexico

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The rain-heavy remains of Hurricane Eta flooded homes in Honduras on Thursday as the death toll across Central America rose to at least 13. Forecasters said the once-mighty storm was expected to regather form and head toward …

Posted: Nov 06, 2020

Police and National Guard React to Unruly Protests in Four States

Post-election tensions spawned clashes between police and demonstrators in Minneapolis, Portland, Ore., Seattle and New York City Wednesday and Thursday. In Minneapolis, law enforcement officers arrested more than 600 demonstrators who marched onto a...

Posted: Nov 06, 2020

Time to Riot? Wrong Comment Can Reignite Firestorm, Experts Say

The boarded-up windows in shopping districts throughout the United States represent a reasonable assessment of risk in a nation that has already experienced historic damages from civil unrest and appears poised to erupt into violence again, executive...

Posted: Nov 06, 2020

Apple Must Face Shareholder Lawsuit Over CEO Cook’s China Sales Comments

Apple Inc has been ordered to face a proposed class-action lawsuit by shareholders who accused Chief Executive Tim Cook of concealing falling demand for iPhones in China, resulting in billions of dollars of investor losses. In a decision on Wednesday...

Posted: Nov 06, 2020

Uber, Gig Economy Companies See California Win as National Model

Gig economy companies want to turn California voters’ decision to make ride-service drivers contractors into a model for the nation, as several states consider requiring drivers from Uber, Lyft and rival services be treated as employees with higher c...

Posted: Nov 05, 2020

Lloyd’s of London Ditches Plan to Create its Own Electronic Exchanges

LONDON — Lloyd’s of London has dropped ambitious plans to set up its own electronic exchanges and will work with other existing platforms to speed up the underwriting process and cut costs, the commercial insurance market said on Thursday. Lloyd’s …

Posted: Nov 05, 2020

Quake Toll Rises To 116 in Turkey; Rescuers Finish Searches

ANKARA, Turkey — The death toll in last week’s Aegean Sea earthquake rose to 116 on Wednesday as rescuers in the Turkish city of Izmir finished searching buildings that collapsed in the quake. All but two of the victims were …

Posted: Nov 05, 2020

Eta Lashes Nicaragua With Rains, Deadly Mudslides

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Tropical Storm Eta spun through northern Nicaragua Wednesday after lashing the country’s Caribbean coast for much of the past day, its floodwaters isolating already remote communities and setting off deadly landslides that killed...

Posted: Nov 05, 2020

Where Are Our Self-Driving Cars? Infrastructure, Liability, Safety Concerns Remain

Tesla recently made headlines with the beta launch of its Full Self-Driving system. That system comes with a disclaimer saying, “It may do the wrong thing at the worst time, so you must always keep your hands on the wheel …

Posted: Nov 05, 2020

Retail Therapy, Last Pints: England Readies for New Lockdown

LONDON — Last-minute shoppers in England were out in force Wednesday and thirsty drinkers planned their final freshly poured pints in a pub for the next month as Britain prepared to join large swathes of Europe in a coronavirus lockdown …

Posted: Nov 05, 2020

Insurer May Not ‘Contract Around’ Georgia Law on Sovereign Immunity Waivers

An insurer is liable for the full $5 million policy limit in a lawsuit filed against a city government whose police department was involved in a high-speed chase that ended in a collision that killed a grandmother and two of …

Posted: Nov 05, 2020

Threat of Crackdown on U.S. Insurers Fades as Political ‘Blue Wave’ Sputters

NEW YORK — Insurers appear to have dodged a revival of strict regulations and policy upheavals after an anticipated Democratic “Blue Wave,” which would have allowed progressives to push for broad reforms, failed to materialize on Wednesday, said indu...

Posted: Nov 05, 2020

Pilot Unions, Crash Families Seek Changes to 737 Max Training

Pilot unions and families of those killed in a crash of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max are asking for revisions to proposed new training for the grounded jetliner. The Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed new training module and emergency checklists for...

Posted: Nov 04, 2020

Uber, Lyft Shares Jump as California Set to Pass Gig-Worker Ballot Measure

Nov 4 — Uber and Lyft stocks soared on Wednesday after California voters endorsed the gig economy’s blistering campaign not to count drivers as employees, even as questions loomed over whether the companies can secure similar privileges in other U.S....

Posted: Nov 04, 2020

Settlement in Deadly Crab Boat Sinking Calls For Over $9M

SEATTLE — The owners of a Seattle-managed crab boat have reached a settlement of more than $9 million with two survivors and the families of four crew members who died last year when the Scandies Rose went down in the …

Posted: Nov 04, 2020