The Infrastructure Act: Beneath the Surface

After the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, municipalities are repairing and upgrading their aging infrastructure. This has led to an increase in the number of damaged underground utility claims in construction involving roadways, water/sewer/storm drains, and landscaping.
July 17, 2023 Liability Litigation

Lawsuits Target Harvard Medical School Over Black Market Human Body Parts Ring

Harvard Medical School (HMS) is facing multiple class-action lawsuits in the aftermath of shocking allegations that a morgue employee was involved in stealing and selling human remains donated to the university’s medical school.
July 17, 2023 Liability Litigation

Nationwide PFAS Contamination Nightmare: The Legal Storm Brewing for Chemical Giants

It was the dead cows on Wilbur Tennant’s farm that shaped most of Rob Bilott’s professional life. Tennant’s farm was located in Parkersburg, W. Va.; Bilott was -- and remains -- an environmental lawyer at the firm of Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Cincinnati. All had been well for Tennant until 1998, when half of his herd of 300 cows began to languish and die.
July 13, 2023 Liability Litigation

Attorney Involvement Keeps Claims Soaring

Increased attorney involvement in commercial claims is a direct cause of substantial loss ratios, with costs continuing to rise. These growing costs result from high legal involvement rates, social inflation, third-party litigation funding and bad-faith lawsuits filed by attorneys.
July 12, 2023 Auto Liability Litigation Workers' Compensation

Challenges Ahead for Potential Lawsuits Against OceanGate Expeditions

The discovery of the imploded submersible ‘Titan’ has prompted questions regarding OceanGate Expeditions’ liability. While jurisdictional issues and waivers signed by passengers may hinder a lawsuit, misrepresentation of safety could offer a potential legal route. Yet, the company’s possible financial demise following the disaster could render lawsuits moot.
July 11, 2023 Liability Litigation

Auto Claim Denied Due to North Carolina’s Contributory Negligence Law

Roy Jackson was on his way home after running some errands. He was driving along State Route 1104 in Lexington about 5 minutes from his house when a driver heading in the opposite direction suddenly swerved into his lane.
July 7, 2023 Auto Liability North Carolina

Autonomous Vehicles Are Coming to a Street Near You

The promise of cars that drive themselves has been just over the horizon for years now -- one of those breakthroughs that’s always coming yet seemingly never arrives. That’s changing, though, and rapidly.
July 6, 2023 Auto Liability

Group Captive Insurance Programs Tackle High Insurance Costs

One of the largest development firms in New Orleans, whose high-profile projects have included the $530 million Four Seasons Hotel at the foot of Canal Street, has faced some serious "sticker shock" when it comes to its insurance premiums in the last couple years.
July 6, 2023 Liability Property

Unveiling the Truth: The Future of Workplace Cannabis Testing

It’s been less than a decade since Colorado became the first U.S. state to legalize recreational marijuana. Today, it’s legal to consume in 25 U.S. states and territories, as well as in Washington, D.C. But in most of these regions, recreational cannabis use has been legal for less than five years.
July 6, 2023 Liability Workers' Compensation

Who’s at Fault When AI’s Driving a Cargo Ship?

It’s 2035 and a maritime court has convened to determine who’s at fault when a seagoing vessel made an error in passage planning -- a safety exercise that maps a voyage from start to finish, including harbour navigation and docking.
June 30, 2023 Liability Marine Technology

Could Insurance Reduce Gun Violence?

Regardless of where one stands on gun control, it’s no secret that gun violence is a prominent issue in the U.S. -- one many agree is worth making policy changes to solve. In fact, some 95% of Americans support some form of restriction on firearm access, according to an April 2023 ValuePenguin survey.
June 27, 2023 Liability

Case Guides Insurers on Crafting Policies for Biometric Privacy Coverage

Hanover Insurance Group Inc.’s recent loss in a face scan privacy dispute provides a roadmap for insurers on how to craft clearer policy language to avoid having to provide coverage for a policyholder’s biometric privacy violations.
June 26, 2023 Liability Litigation

Insights from the Insurance Litigation Report: Louisiana’s Western District Tops the List

From 2020 through 2022, the highest number of insurance cases in the U.S. were filed in the Western District of Louisiana, according to a new report from LexisNexis company Lex Machina.
June 23, 2023 Liability Litigation Property Louisiana

Doubling Down on Damages: As MAP Enrollment Gains Momentum, So Does the Risk for a Private Cause of Action

Medicare Advantage Plans (MAPs), also known as Medicare Part C, are private insurance plans that provide for a Medicare beneficiary’s Part A and Part B benefits. Beneficiaries can choose to enroll in a MAP rather than traditional Medicare. There also are Medicare drug plans (Part D) that provide for a beneficiary’s prescription drugs.
June 23, 2023 Auto Liability Workers' Compensation

Man Pleads Guilty in $1.1M Accident Injury Conspiracy Plus COVID-19 Loan Scam

A Kansas City, MO, man who formerly lived in Columbia, MO, pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a $1.1 million insurance fraud conspiracy that involved false claims of injuries suffered in car accidents, as well as to his role in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 relief benefits.
June 23, 2023 Auto Fraud Liability Missouri
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