Claims Journal

Pandemic Pushes Insurers to Avoid Already Strained Senior Care Market

The coronavirus pandemic has made it even harder for senior-care centers in the United States to find or afford standard liability insurance, with rates soaring by as much as 300%, insurance brokers said. Residential care communities like nursing hom...

Posted: Jul 09, 2020

Nonprofits Urge Johnson & Johnson to Halt Sales of Baby Powder Globally

More than 170 nonprofit groups on Wednesday called for Johnson & Johnson to stop selling its talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder world-wide, citing concerns that it contains cancer-causing asbestos, according to a statement from advocacy group Black Wom...

Posted: Jul 09, 2020

Law Firms Tracking Wave of COVID-19 Employer v. Employee Litigation

A pandemic is no time to play favorites at the workplace, skimp on personal protective equipment or get too stingy with requests for time off. Since the beginning of the year, 300 employee vs. employer lawsuits related to the COVID-19 …

Posted: Jul 09, 2020

Law Firms Tracking Wave of COVID-19 Employee v. Employer Litigation

A pandemic is no time to play favorites at the workplace, skimp on personal protective equipment or get too stingy with requests for time off. Since the beginning of the year, 300 employee vs. employer lawsuits related to the COVID-19 …

Posted: Jul 09, 2020

Chubb Urges U.S. and Insurers to Team Up for Future Pandemic Costs

Chubb Ltd. proposed that insurers and the U.S. government work together to cover future business-interruption losses from pandemics, as the industry faces a flurry of lawsuits over costs related to coronavirus-related shutdowns. Chubb, the large glob...

Posted: Jul 09, 2020

Report of Drone Strike on News Chopper Reveals Other Incidents

A small drone was almost certainly the object that damaged a news helicopter flying over Los Angeles last year, and the remote-controlled devices are suspected in two other mid-air impacts with aircraft, according to U.S. investigators. A KABC-TV cho...

Posted: Jul 08, 2020

13 Hawaiian Airlines Employees Test Positive for Coronavirus

HONOLULU — Hawaiian Airlines Inc. says 13 of its employees have tested positive for the coronavirus following an annual training course. The employees who tested positive for COVID-19 took part in flight attendant training at the airline’s Honolulu h...

Posted: Jul 08, 2020

Cannabis Firms See Jump in Insurance Costs to Protect Leaders as Investors Sue

Canadian and U.S. cannabis companies are facing a spike in already high costs of insurance to protect top executives from personal liability, following a slew of lawsuits by disgruntled investors alleging fraud and misinformation, with more such acti...

Posted: Jul 08, 2020

Bayer Puts Part of Roundup Settlement on Hold

FRANKFURT — Bayer has agreed to delay part of a proposed settlement of allegations that its widely used weedkiller Roundup caused cancer after a U.S. judge questioned its plan to deal with future claims. The German company said on Wednesday …

Posted: Jul 08, 2020

CDC Says COVID-19 Hit Meat, Poultry Plant Workers Hard In April, May

The coronavirus outbreak took a heavy toll on workers at U.S. meat and poultry processing facilities, with more than 17,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 100 deaths in April and May, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control …

Posted: Jul 08, 2020

Bank of England Worried About Business Interruption Insurance Claims

LONDON — The biggest uncertainty now facing insurers is whether they will have to pay for a raft of business interruption claims, the Bank of England said, as a court prepares to rule on whether existing policies cover big losses …

Posted: Jul 08, 2020

Movie Theater Chains Sue New Jersey Over Coronavirus-Related Closures

Six movie theater chains, including AMC Entertainment, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas, have sued New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy for refusing to let them resume operations, even after allowing churches, retailers and indoor shopping malls to reopen durin...

Posted: Jul 08, 2020

Viewpoint: Nature-Based Flood Mitigation Can Help Mississippi River Farmers

The 2019 flooding of the Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas Rivers in the United States impacted 19 states and caused $20 billion in losses. Waters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana stayed above flood levels for 211 days, longer than any flood in …

Posted: Jul 08, 2020

Bayer’s Roundup-Cancer Settlement Plan Hits Snag

Bayer AG’s plan for handling future Roundup cancer claims hit a snag when the judge asked to oversee the yet-to-be filed lawsuits over the popular weedkiller expressed skepticism about the proposal’s legal validity. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria...

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

Toyota, Others Seeing Prolonged Disruption From Heavy Rains

Toyota Motor Corp. will extend its factory stoppage through part of Wednesday as the impact of heavy rains in southern Japan continues to ripple through manufacturing facilities in the region. Toyota Kyushu’s Miyata, Karita, Kokura plants will remain...

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

Dakota Pipeline Investors Could Face Major Hit After Adverse Ruling

BOSTON/DENVER — Large investors in the Dakota Access Pipeline, including Phillips 66, could be on the hook for hundreds of millions in payments, after a U.S. court on Monday ordered the shutdown of the major artery. The U.S. District Court …

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

California Crews Scramble to Douse Blazes From Fireworks

SAN FRANCISCO — Firefighters scrambled to douse grass and structure fires sparked by illegal Fourth of July fireworks across California. The city of San Francisco saw at least 100 fires between 3 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Saturday, the San Francisco …

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

Tree Falls on Garage, 19 Sent to Hospitals

PASADENA, Md. — A large tree toppled onto a detached garage in a Maryland neighborhood where people attending a child’s birthday party sought shelter from a storm, sending 19 people to hospitals Sunday afternoon, authorities said. Anne Arundel County...

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

Federal Biz Interruption Bill Backed by Plaintiffs Group Introduced

Last week, a U.S. lawmaker introduced a bill that would allow insurers to voluntarily pay certain COVID-related business interruption claims and get reimbursed by the federal government, but insurance groups have rejected the idea. Although the text...

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

Employers Find Testing Employees More Trouble Than It’s Worth

From nursing homes in New York and a landfill in Utah to Disney World and the Las Vegas Strip, employers are wrestling with workplace safety in the age of Covid-19 and making fraught calculations about how to safeguard both their …

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

Michigan Judge Rejects Restaurants’ COVID-19 Business Interruption Claim

A trial court judge in Lansing, Michigan handed a victory to insurers in what may be the nation’s first final ruling on the question of whether a property insurer is liable for financial damages caused by a coronavirus closure order. …

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

COVID-19 Immunity Proposal Flounders in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Just a few weeks ago, Tennessee looked like a sure bet to become the latest state to protect businesses and other organizations from lawsuits by people impacted by the coronavirus in the push to reopen the economy. …

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Family Files Discrimination Lawsuit Against Hampton Inn

WILSON, N.C. — A Black family has filed a federal lawsuit against the parent company of Hampton Inn and others after the family said a North Carolina clerk called police on them over a billing dispute two years ago. Delores …

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

California, Nevada Crews Scramble to Douse Blazes from Fireworks

SAN FRANCISCO — Firefighters scrambled to douse grass and structure fires sparked by illegal Fourth of July fireworks in California’s Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. The city of San Francisco saw at least 100 fires between 3 …

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Michigan Village Starts Flood Recovery, Awaits Funds

LANSING, Mich. — Jenna Hulse was at work out of town as a nurse when she got a message from her brother that a dam three blocks from her house in the Michigan village of Sanford was failing. Six feet …

Posted: Jul 06, 2020