Claims Journal

Forensics Firm Says Disinfectant Foggers Can Damage Electronics

A forensic engineering firm is warning that using foggers to disperse disinfectants — a common practice as businesses reopen after COVID-19 closures — may cause permanent damage to electronic equipment. Atlanta-based Envista Forensics released a pape...

Posted: May 26, 2020

French Court Orders Insurer AXA to Pay Restaurant’s COVID-19 Losses

PARIS — A Paris commercial court ruled that insurer AXA must pay a restaurant owner two months’ worth of coronavirus-related revenue losses, the restaurateur’s lawyer said on Friday, possibly opening the door to a wave of similar litigation. AXA said...

Posted: May 22, 2020

As Nation Reopens, a Historic Referendum on Risk Begins

WASHINGTON — We are becoming a nation of amateur actuaries, calculating the risk of restarting our lives. Can we go outside? Can we go back to work? Can we go to a restaurant or bar? Can we go to the …

Posted: May 22, 2020

Meatpacking Safety Recommendations Are Largely Unenforceable

MINNEAPOLIS– Federal recommendations meant to keep meatpacking workers safe as they return to plants that were shuttered by the coronavirus have little enforcement muscle behind them, fueling anxiety that working conditions could put employees’ lives...

Posted: May 22, 2020

Pacific Hurricane Forecast Complicated by Coronavirus

HONOLULU — The Central Pacific basin including Hawaii should expect to see between two and six tropical storms or hurricanes this year, federal forecasters said Wednesday. The annual National Weather Service prediction came as wary Hawaii residents b...

Posted: May 22, 2020

Insurers Support Federal Backstop for Future Pandemics; Plaintiffs Seek Help for Current Outbreak

Key segments of the property/casualty insurance industry, which is facing mounting claims for business interruption losses from the pandemic, have thrown their lobbying weight behind a proposed federal program to replace revenues lost by businesses s...

Posted: May 22, 2020

Michigan Flood Puts Privately Owned Dams in Harsh Spotlight

The dams that breached after days of heavy rain in central Michigan are privately owned and had been the center of controversy for several years. Now Governor Gretchen Whitmer is saying these critical facilities should not be in private hands. …

Posted: May 22, 2020

U.S. Insurers Propose Taxpayer-Funded Business-Loss Coverage For Future Pandemics

With U.S. insurance companies facing criticism over their response to the coronavirus outbreak, three industry groups on Thursday proposed putting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in charge of a taxpayer-backed program to protect busine...

Posted: May 22, 2020

J&J’s Baby Powder Switch Sets an End Date for Legal Liability

Johnson & Johnson’s decision to phase out the talc-based version of its iconic baby powder may signal the company is moving out of litigation-defense mode over allegations the product causes cancer and preparing for a global settlement of almost 20,0...

Posted: May 21, 2020

Millions Evacuated From India, Bangladesh as Cyclone Nears Making Landfall

Authorities along India’s east coast and neighboring Bangladesh evacuated millions to safer places and shut some factories as the biggest cyclonic storm in two decades makes landfall, causing heavy rain and strong winds in the region. Amphan, now equ...

Posted: May 21, 2020

What It’s Like Running Grocery Stores During Coronavirus

After taking the reins of Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. last year, Jack Sinclair set out a clear vision for how to revive a grocery chain that had seen growth stall. The chief executive officer, who previously ran Walmart’s U.S. grocery …

Posted: May 21, 2020

New Jersey, Other States, Work to Fight Virus Misinformation

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey’s top homeland security official received nearly nonstop calls in early March from grocery chains, trucking companies and other logistics firms wanting to know if rumors of an impending national lockdown were true. They wer...

Posted: May 21, 2020

US Roadway Death Rate Up in March Despite Virus Restrictions

DETROIT — The rate of fatal automobile crashes in the U.S. jumped dramatically in March, even though the number of miles driven plummeted due to coronavirus stay-home orders. The National Safety Council said Wednesday that based on preliminary figure...

Posted: May 21, 2020

Thousands Evacuated as River Dams Break in Central Michigan

MIDLAND, Mich. — Rapidly rising water overtook dams and forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people in central Michigan, where flooding struck communities along rain-swollen waterways and the governor said one downtown could be “under approximately...

Posted: May 21, 2020

Uber Has Spent $19 Million on Coronavirus Financial Assistance for Drivers

Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday for the first time detailed how much it has spent to support its ride-hail drivers and food delivery workers during the coronavirus crisis, which has battered the company and forced it to lay off thousands …

Posted: May 21, 2020

Number of Federal COVID-19 Business Interruption Lawsuits at 102 and Rising

A federal court has received notice that 101 lawsuits have been filed as of Wednesday seeking coverage from insurers for business interruption losses caused by COVID-19. Plaintiffs attorneys say they expect the number to rise into the thousands. “Ult...

Posted: May 21, 2020

Number of Federal COVID-19 Business Interruption Lawsuits at 101 and Rising

A federal court has received notice that 101 lawsuits have been filed as of Wednesday seeking coverage from insurers for business interruption losses caused by COVID-19. Plaintiffs attorneys say they expect the number to rise into the thousands. “Ult...

Posted: May 21, 2020

Workers Hit McDonald’s With Class Action Over COVID-19 Safety

Five McDonald’s workers in Chicago filed a class action lawsuit against the chain on Tuesday, accusing it of failing to adopt government safety guidance on COVID-19 and endangering employees and their families. McDonald’s failed to provide adequate h...

Posted: May 20, 2020

U.S. Airlines Step Up Safety Measures in Preparation for Recovery

May 20 — U.S. carriers JetBlue Airways Corp and United Airlines Holdings Inc announced fresh safety measures on Wednesday aimed at restoring confidence in travel as several executives pointed to signs domestic demand is improving. U.S. states are sta...

Posted: May 20, 2020

Employee Sues Utah Company After Contracting COVID-19

SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who contracted the coronavirus in Utah has sued her employer arguing the American Fork-based company did not take proper precautions to protect its employees against COVID-19. Juana Victoria Flores filed the lawsuit Wednesday...

Posted: May 20, 2020

3 Gulf Coast States Get $88M in Disaster Funds for Fisheries Flooding

NEW ORLEANS — Three Gulf Coast states are getting more than $88 million in fisheries disaster funds for damage from last year’s flooding, which included an unprecedented two openings of a spillway west of New Orleans. “These funds will help …

Posted: May 20, 2020

Probe Into LA Explosion Begins as Firefighters Recover

LOS ANGELES — Investigators on Monday began combing the wreckage of a fire and explosion at a downtown Los Angeles vape and marijuana accessories wholesaler to determine its cause as 12 injured firefighters started the long process of recovery. Seven...

Posted: May 20, 2020

Judge: Salvage Firm Can Recover Titanic’s Telegraph Machine

NORFOLK — A federal judge in Virginia has ruled that a salvage firm can retrieve the Marconi wireless telegraph machine that broadcast distress calls from the sinking Titanic ocean liner. In an order released Monday, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach...

Posted: May 20, 2020

Johnson & Johnson to Stop Selling Talc-Based Baby Powder in U.S. and Canada

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday announced that it would stop selling its talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in the United States and Canada, making the decision after a consumer products “portfolio reassessment related to COVID-19.” The U.S. healthcare co...

Posted: May 20, 2020

U.S. to Mandate New Safety-Management Tools for Aircraft Makers

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it would require Boeing Co and other aircraft manufacturers to adopt new safety-management tools following two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people. The plan to begin the re...

Posted: May 20, 2020