Claims Journal

U.S. Refiners, Chemical Makers Pare Insurance Coverage as Accidents Boost Costs
U.S. Refiners, Chemical Makers Pare Insurance Coverage as Accidents Boost Costs

U.S. refineries and petrochemical plants are cutting back on insurance because several years of severe accidents have driven up the cost of coverage, industry and insurance sources said. With less insurance coverage for physical damage and business i...

Posted: Jan 31, 2020

J&J Ordered to Pay $344 Million Over Vaginal-Mesh Marketing
J&J Ordered to Pay $344 Million Over Vaginal-Mesh Marketing

Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $344 million for misrepresenting the risks of vaginal-mesh implants to consumers in California, the first state to bring its claim against the company to trial after thousands of U.S. women sued and some …

Posted: Jan 30, 2020

CEO Walks Back Pledge to Fix Homes Damaged in Houston Blast
CEO Walks Back Pledge to Fix Homes Damaged in Houston Blast

HOUSTON — The head of a company involved in a massive explosion in Houston that killed two workers and injured 20 others on Tuesday backtracked on a pledge he had made earlier in the day to fix the hundreds of …

Posted: Jan 30, 2020

Company Found Partly Responsible for Oklahoma Rig Explosion
Company Found Partly Responsible for Oklahoma Rig Explosion

McALESTER, Okla. — An Oklahoma jury has found a Houston-based company 10% responsible for a January 2018 explosion and fire that killed five men. The Pittsburg County jury on Monday ordered National Oilwell Varco to pay $1 million each to …

Posted: Jan 30, 2020

Mag 7.7 Quake Hits Between Cuba and Jamaica, but no Injuries
Mag 7.7 Quake Hits Between Cuba and Jamaica, but no Injuries

HAVANA — A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and eastern Cuba on Tuesday, shaking a vast area from Mexico to Florida and beyond, but there were no reports of casualties or heavy damage. The …

Posted: Jan 30, 2020

Fraudsters Posing as Art Dealer Got Gallery to Pay Millions
Fraudsters Posing as Art Dealer Got Gallery to Pay Millions

Hackers posing as a veteran London art dealer tricked a Dutch museum buying a John Constable painting into paying 2.4 million pounds ($3.1 million) into a fraudulent bank account. Scamming their way into the middle of months of negotiating emails …

Posted: Jan 30, 2020

KKR-Led Funding Round Gives $100 Million to Startup Policygenius
KKR-Led Funding Round Gives $100 Million to Startup Policygenius

Online insurance startup Policygenius raised $100 million from investors including KKR & Co. and venture capital operations backed by Axa SA, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Transamerica. The company has annual revenue of $60 million, whi...

Posted: Jan 30, 2020

Lindsey Graham Proposal Could Expose Apple, Facebook to Lawsuits
Lindsey Graham Proposal Could Expose Apple, Facebook to Lawsuits

Senator Lindsey Graham, a top Trump ally, is targeting giant internet platforms with a child protection measure that could threaten tech companies’ use of encryption and a liability exemption they prize. The draft bill from Graham, the South Carolina...

Posted: Jan 30, 2020

Plaintiff Must Prove Use of Mitchell Program Violated Collateral Source Rule
Plaintiff Must Prove Use of Mitchell Program Violated Collateral Source Rule

For the second time in a year, a federal judge rejected a plaintiff’s attorney’s argument that an insurance carrier acted in bad faith by using the Mitchell Decision Point program when calculating the value of a Colorado policyholder&#821...

Posted: Jan 30, 2020

Embraer Malfunction Reminiscent of 737 Max Issue Being Probed
Embraer Malfunction Reminiscent of 737 Max Issue Being Probed

Pilots on a Republic Airways Services Inc. flight leaving Atlanta in November lost the ability to raise and lower their Embraer SA EMB-175’s nose, a failure reminiscent to what helped lead to the two 737 Max crashes, investigators said on &#823...

Posted: Jan 30, 2020

Interior Department Grounds Chinese-Made Drones, Citing Security Fears
Interior Department Grounds Chinese-Made Drones, Citing Security Fears

The Interior Department is banning non-emergency flights of its fleet of 810 drones as it reviews national security concerns about the Chinese-made devices. The restrictions were outlined in an order signed Wednesday by Interior Secretary David Bernh...

Posted: Jan 29, 2020

Australia’s Capital City Faces Its Worst Wildfire Threat in 17 Years
Australia’s Capital City Faces Its Worst Wildfire Threat in 17 Years

Canberra, Australia’s capital that’s surrounded by bush, is facing its worst wildfire threat in 17 years as a blaze sparked by a military helicopter approaches the city amid heatwave conditions. Residents in Canberra’s southern subu...

Posted: Jan 29, 2020

Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter Lacked Terrain Warning Device, NTSB Says
Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter Lacked Terrain Warning Device, NTSB Says

The helicopter ferrying basketball legend Kobe Bryant and eight others that slammed into a hillside near Los Angeles Sunday wasn’t equipped with a device designed to warn pilots when they’re in danger of hitting rising terrain. Investigat...

Posted: Jan 29, 2020

NY, Feds Sue ‘Pharma Bro’ for ‘Scheme’ to Keep Drug Price Up
NY, Feds Sue ‘Pharma Bro’ for ‘Scheme’ to Keep Drug Price Up

NEW YORK — State and federal authorities sued imprisoned entrepreneur Martin Shkreli on Monday over tactics that shielded a profitable drug from competition after a price hike made the so-called “Pharma Bro” infamous. Shkreli was sc...

Posted: Jan 29, 2020

Iowa Town Working to Buy More Homes in Flood Plain
Iowa Town Working to Buy More Homes in Flood Plain

BETTENDORF, Iowa — The city of Bettendorf has been awarded a $2.2 million federal grant that, coupled with state and city contributions, will make $2.95 million available to buy out up to 22 homeowners in the flood plain along Duck …

Posted: Jan 29, 2020

Puerto Rico Opens Only 20% of Schools Amid Ongoing Quakes
Puerto Rico Opens Only 20% of Schools Amid Ongoing Quakes

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico opened only 20% of its public schools on Tuesday following a strong earthquake that delayed the start of classes by nearly three weeks as fears linger over the safety of students. Only 177 …

Posted: Jan 29, 2020

Pilot of Bryant Helicopter Tried to Avoid Heavy Fog
Pilot of Bryant Helicopter Tried to Avoid Heavy Fog

CALABASAS, Calif. — A veteran pilot who plunged into a Los Angeles-area hillside, killing Kobe Bryant and eight others, had tried to avoid fog so heavy that it had grounded police choppers, authorities said. But even experienced pilots may have...

Posted: Jan 29, 2020

Viewpoint: A Primer on Traumatic Brain Injuries
Viewpoint: A Primer on Traumatic Brain Injuries

No two patients recovering from a brain injury are alike. The key to the very best possible outcome is to make sure the proper diagnosis is achieved, and treatments are outlined. First, it is important to know the types of …

Posted: Jan 29, 2020

Alabama Fire Chief Confirms 8 Deaths in Boat Dock Fire
Alabama Fire Chief Confirms 8 Deaths in Boat Dock Fire

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — At least eight people were killed early Monday in an explosive fire that consumed at least 35 vessels docked along the Tennessee River. Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Necklaus said all eight people who were known to be …

Posted: Jan 28, 2020

3 Missing After Barge Crash on Mississippi River
3 Missing After Barge Crash on Mississippi River

LULING, La. — Three people were missing after two barge towing vessels collided Sunday on the Mississippi River in an accident that also may have released a small amount of toxic vapor into the air, the Coast Guard said. The …

Posted: Jan 28, 2020

Travelex Says UK Money Transfer and Wire Services Back Online After Hack
Travelex Says UK Money Transfer and Wire Services Back Online After Hack

Travelex’s UK international money transfer service and wire offering is fully operational again, it said on Tuesday, almost a month after a crippling ransomware attack forced staff to use pen and paper to calculate foreign currency exchanges. T...

Posted: Jan 28, 2020

Murder Charges in Vale Dam Collapse Case Complicate Brazilian Probes
Murder Charges in Vale Dam Collapse Case Complicate Brazilian Probes

RIO DE JANEIRO — The filing of murder charges against the former CEO of Brazilian miner Vale SA and 15 others for a 2019 dam collapse that killed more than 250 people was hailed by victims’ families as a major …

Posted: Jan 28, 2020

‘Snake’ Ransomware Linked to Iran, Targets Industrial Controls
‘Snake’ Ransomware Linked to Iran, Targets Industrial Controls

An Israeli cybersecurity firm has identified a new type of ransomware that it believes was created by Iran and has the ability to lock up or even delete industrial control systems. Tel Aviv-based Otorio, a cybersecurity firm which specializes in &#82...

Posted: Jan 28, 2020

Bryant Crash Copter Didn’t Have ‘Black Box’ Recorders, NTSB Says
Bryant Crash Copter Didn’t Have ‘Black Box’ Recorders, NTSB Says

The helicopter on which Kobe Bryant and eight other people died Sunday wasn’t equipped with crash-proof voice and data recorders, investigators said Monday night. The Sikorsky S-76B helicopter carrying Bryant, his daughter and seven others wasn...

Posted: Jan 28, 2020

Everyone’s Favorite Climate Solution Has a Fire Problem
Everyone’s Favorite Climate Solution Has a Fire Problem

The explosion ruptured the dusk settling over the desert in Surprise, Arizona. For hours, smoke had poured from a metal shed packed with lithium-ion batteries at a small electric substation. The batteries were tied to the electric grid, and somehow &...

Posted: Jan 28, 2020