Claims Journal

Body Shop Still Swinging After 3 Losses Against Insurers in Ohio Courts

A Columbus, Ohio auto body shop, for the third time, has lost an attempt to pocket money paid to it by an auto insurer for vehicle repairs that were never made. The 10th District of the Ohio Court of Appeals …

Posted: May 01, 2020

Apollo, Centerbridge Backed PG&E, Funded Loan to Firm Suing It

Two major investors in PG&E Corp. are also backing a loan to one of the law firms suing the bankrupt California utility on behalf of thousands of wildfire victims. Centerbridge Partners LP is the among the 20 biggest shareholders in …

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Pandemic Job Actions May Push Renewed Labor Movement

Jordan Flowers never thought he would become a labor leader. Then the coronavirus forced him to risk his life every time he clocked in. The robotics operator at Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse helped lead one of the first walkouts at …

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Coast Guard, Ripley Entertainment Criticized in Duck Boat Crash

LIBERTY, Mo. — A duck boat sinking on a Missouri lake that killed 17 people two summers ago likely would not have happened if the U.S. Coast Guard had followed recommendations to improve the safety of such tourist attractions, federal …

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Macy’s Reopening 68 Stores, Targets All Within Six Weeks as U.S. Restrictions Loosen

NEW YORK — Macy’s Inc plans to reopen 68 U.S. stores on Monday in states that have loosened coronavirus lockdowns, the department store operator said on Thursday, as more retailers sought to get business going after a crushing month of …

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Swiss Re Swings to Q1 Loss as Coronavirus Outbreak Bites

FRANKFURT — Reinsurer Swiss Re swung into a net loss in the first quarter of 2020 as the impact of the coronavirus outbreak began to bite, it said on Thursday. The Zurich-based company booked a hit of $476 million for …

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Consumer Groups Urge Lawmakers Against Shielding Businesses From Coronavirus-Related Lawsuits

U.S. consumer advocates are urging Congress to resist growing demands by companies for protections from coronavirus-related lawsuits as states start to ease pandemic restrictions and businesses begin to reopen. Led by Public Citizen and the Center fo...

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

JBS Reopens Pork Plant to Put Down Pigs, Dispose Of Carcasses, Not Produce Meat

CHICAGO, April 29 — Meat producer JBS said on Wednesday it was reopening a Minnesota pork plant shuttered by the pandemic to euthanize up to 13,000 pigs a day for farmers, not to produce meat for consumers. U.S. farmers have …

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Claims Shops Offer New Services to Help Businesses Reopen

As businesses begin to reopen after weeks-long closures to slow the spread of coronavirus, claims management companies have adjusted their service offerings to smooth the transition. Sedgwick, for instance, in February began helping clients set up te...

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Legal Protections Make Class-Action Suits Against Cruise Lines an ‘Uphill Battle’

After two passengers on their luxury cruise tested positive for Covid-19 in March, Emilio and Barbara Hernandez were so frantic to get off the ship, they wrote a note to the captain. The Costa Luminosa sailed on with them still …

Posted: Apr 29, 2020

Companies Seek to Limit Legal Liability For Virus Infections

As companies start planning their reopenings, business groups are pushing Congress to limit liability from potential lawsuits filed by workers and customers infected by the coronavirus. They appear to have the White House’s ear. President Donald Trum...

Posted: Apr 29, 2020

Pandemic Exposes Gaps in Travel Insurance Coverage

NORFOLK, Va. — For many people, travel insurance has been little more than a box that pops up on a booking site to offer some cheap peace of mind. But the coverage’s limitations have been brought into stark relief during …

Posted: Apr 29, 2020

Barges Hit Mississippi Bridge, Some Drift Into 2nd Bridge

VICKSBURG, Miss. — Barges hit a 90-year-old railroad bridge over the Mississippi River, and some broke away and drifted back into a parallel newer bridge under which they had just passed on Monday. The old U.S. 80 railroad bridge was …

Posted: Apr 29, 2020

Insurers Want Taxpayers to Back Pandemic Coverage For Businesses

The U.S. insurance industry is promoting the idea of an insurance plan backed by the federal government that would help businesses that in the future suffer losses from a pandemic, people familiar with the effort told Reuters. The campaign involves …

Posted: Apr 29, 2020

Amazon Turns to Chinese Firm on U.S. Blacklist to Meet Thermal Camera Needs

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon.com Inc has bought cameras to take temperatures of workers during the coronavirus pandemic from a firm the United States blacklisted over allegations it helped China detain and monitor the Uighurs and other Muslim mino...

Posted: Apr 29, 2020

2nd Circuit Throws Out $64 Million Jury Award Against Fireman’s Fund

A federal appellate court on Tuesday overturned a jury’s award of $64 million against Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. for allegedly breaching the terms of a reinsurance agreement. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals found that Fireman’s Fund was not liable...

Posted: Apr 29, 2020

Trump Order for Meat Processing Plants to Stay Open Eases Plant Owner’s Liability Fears

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to order U.S. meat processing plants facing concerns about coronavirus outbreaks to stay open to protect the country’s food supply, a senior administration official said on Tuesday. Amid concerns about potent...

Posted: Apr 29, 2020

Viewpoint: A Solution to the COVID-19 Liability Problem

Whenever we’re ready to re-open Covid-closed businesses, we’ll have to resolve some important questions about how to do so safely. One of them: what kind of measures should businesses take to keep employees and customers safe, and how should business...

Posted: Apr 28, 2020

California Virus War Slams Into Its Other Crisis: Wildfires

A crisis California didn’t foresee — the Covid-19 pandemic — is complicating preparations for one that arrives with a vengeance every year. With wildfire season on the horizon, state officials have ordered prevention efforts to proceed after rains ha...

Posted: Apr 28, 2020

New York AG Raises Concerns About Amazon’s Pandemic Safety Practices

Amazon.com Inc may have violated safety measures and labor practices amid the coronavirus pandemic as it fired a warehouse protest leader last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office wrote in a letter to the company last week. “Amazon...

Posted: Apr 28, 2020

World’s Mine Workers Resist Quick Restart Amid Coronavirus

JOHANNESBURG/LIMA — As mining heavyweights South Africa and Peru move to lift coronavirus lockdowns, workers in deep mines are resisting going back to work without adequate protective gear and information about cases at sites, with one major union fi...

Posted: Apr 28, 2020

Judge Orders W. Va. Gov’s Coal Companies To Pay Fines, Fees

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal judge in Kentucky has ordered companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to pay more than $1 million in fees and expenses in a lawsuit that accused them of defaulting on a mining contract. …

Posted: Apr 28, 2020

Notre Dame Cathedral Worksite Refitted For Virus Safety

PARIS — Workers are refitting the construction site at fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral to protect staff from the virus and allow cleanup efforts at the Paris landmark to resume. More than a year after the blaze, workers still haven’t finished …

Posted: Apr 28, 2020

NCCI: COVID-19 Will Cost Billions Even With Modest Infection Rates

If only 10 percent of health care workers contract COVID-19 and all of their claims are deemed compensable, workers’ compensation loss costs for that sector could double or even triple in some states, according to an analysis by the National …

Posted: Apr 28, 2020

U.S. Judge Rules Talc Lawsuits Against J&J Can Proceed, Testimony Limited

Thousands of plaintiffs who say that Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and talc products caused cancer can go forward with their claims, but face limits on what expert testimony will be allowed in trials after a Monday ruling by a …

Posted: Apr 28, 2020