Monthly Archives: <span>June 2015</span>

MarketScout Hires Thompson as Claim Services Manager

MarketScout named Kirt Thompson as the new claim services manager. Thompson is based in the corporate office in Dallas, Texas. Prior to joining MarketScout, Thompson served as the corporate workers’ compensation manager for one of the world’s largest plastic manufacturers. …

Odds Rise That El Nino Will Stay Until Winter

The odds that a weather-changing El Nino will last until the Northern Hemisphere’s next winter are increasing, though it’s too early to say if it will provide drought relief across California, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said. There is an …

Lawyer Invented Way for Health Care Insurers to Recover From Accident Victims

George Rawlings grabs a stack of computer printouts and stretches them six feet across his office, admiring data from police reports of Florida auto accidents: the names of those hurt and the severity of their injuries. For Rawlings, this information …

Last Month’s Amtrak Train Crash Costs Estimated at $9.2M Amid News of PTC Issues

A new hurdle to Amtrak’s automated solution to prevent high-speed train derailments like the fatal accident in Philadelphia emerged at a hearing Wednesday. The system that commands trains to slow down to avert emergencies may not work properly in some …

Guardrail Fraud Award Grows to $663M to Trinity’s Dismay

Trinity Industries Inc., maker of a highway guardrail safety system tied to at least nine deaths, must pay $663 million for defrauding the U.S. government. The decision by U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in Marshall, Texas, caps Trinity’s three-year legal …

Federal Judge Will Set Chinese Drywall Damages for 2,700 Homeowners

Lawyers for homeowners in seven states say they have a simple way to help the 2,700 who have spent years in what lawyers call a toxic environment caused by Chinese drywall. Chris Seeger told U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon as …

Oregon Lawmakers Work on Recreational Marijuana Regulations as Deadline Nears

In less than a month, Oregonians over age 21 will be able to legally grow, own and consume their own small amounts of recreational marijuana. Legislators, however, are still working on the regulations that will govern the legal marijuana industry. …

Indiana Prosecutor Says House Blast was a Selfish Plan Gone Awry

A man accused of plotting a deadly explosion that damaged or destroyed more than 80 homes in an Indianapolis neighborhood should have known the scheme could kill people, even if that wasn’t his intent, a prosecutor told jurors Monday as …

FM Global Publishes Comprehensive Index of Countries’ Building Codes

FM Global, a global commercial and industrial property insurer, announced the publication of the first-ever index of many of the world’s building codes. The 2015 FM Global Country Building Codes Index is a PDF document available at no charge and …

Employee Exclusion Applies to Both Actual and Statutory Employees Under Florida Law

In the context of workers’ compensation, there are two classifications of employees: (1) actual employees; and, (2) statutory employees. A contractor who sublets part of its work to a subcontractor develops a statutory employment relationship with the employees of that …