Latest Rhode Island Headlines

All the headlines from our Rhode Island Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Rhode Island Lawmaker Wants to Ban Phone Use while Driving

Jan 22 2010 // A Rhode Island lawmaker is renewing his push to ban drivers from using hand-held cell phones while behind the wheel.Pawtucket Democrat Peter Kilmartin introduced a bill Tuesday that bans drivers and bicyclists from using...

Broad Powers for Proposed Rhode Island Workers’ Comp Unit

Jan 20 2010 // Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri has proposed reassigning investigators to probe workers’ compensation fraud but giving them far broader powers to prevent the misuse of state government funds.The proposal was contained...

Special Reuters Report: America’s Route to Recovery

Dec 29 2009 // When Bob Hagan was a boy in Youngstown, Ohio, people equated the coke dust they swept off their doorsteps each day with opportunity, for it came from the steel mills that built this city.After graduating from high school...

Narragansett Bay Gets R.I. Renewal Rights from Quincy Mutual

Dec 22 2009 // Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. will begin offering homeowners coverage to Rhode Island policyholders of Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Co. as part of a renewal right agreement between the two insurers.Narragansett Bay will...

2009 P/C Insurance Mergers, Acquisitions Large and Small

Dec 20 2009 // Large insurers AIG, Farmers and The Hartford made moves in 2009, as did large brokers Marsh, Aon, Willis, Gallagher, Brown & Brown, Hub and Wells Fargo. So, too, did, many regional insurers and Main Street agencies....

Rhode Island Nightclub Fire Victims Seek $176 Million Settlement

Dec 18 2009 // Lawyers for victims of a Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people have asked a judge to approve a trust fund that will pay out $176 million in settlement proceeds.The request was made in court papers filed...

Rhode Island Fines Allstate Over Consumer Choice in Car Repair

Dec 14 2009 // Rhode Island regulators have fined a major insurance company $5,000 for allegedly interfering with a driver’s right to choose his own garage for repair work.The Department of Business Regulation determined that...

Payout for Deadly Rhode Island Nightclub Fire Expected Within Weeks

Dec 8 2009 // Lawyers for the victims of a deadly 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people in Rhode Island hope to get a final settlement plan to a federal judge in roughly two weeks. Attorney Mark Mandell said in court last Thursday...

Rhode Island Hospital Apology Prompts Actor Woods to Settle Suit

Dec 3 2009 // Oscar-nominated actor James Woods settled a lawsuit against a Rhode Island hospital where his brother, Michael, died, a judge announced this week.A hospital executive apologized and agreed to start an institute in his...

Rhode Island Strengthens Drunken Driving Laws

Dec 1 2009 // Police in Rhode Island can force motorists who are suspected of driving drunk and are involved in serious car crashes to submit to blood-alcohol testing under a new law. Police and state prosecutors are praising the law,...

Rhode Island Investigating Another Botched Surgery at Hospital

Nov 15 2009 // Health officials are investigating how a surgeon at Rhode Island Hospital mistakenly operated on the wrong part of a patient’s hand, the hospital’s fifth wrong-site surgery since 2007.Hospital President Timothy...

Rhode Island, New York Latest States to See Texting-While-Driving Bans

Nov 15 2009 // New Yorkers: Put the BlackBerry away if you’re behind the wheel.New York’s law against texting-while-driving went into effect this month. The new law forbids the use of mobile devices for reading, typing and...

Rhode Island House Approves Texting-while-Driving Ban

Nov 2 2009 // A proposal to ban Rhode Islanders from texting while driving is one step closer to becoming law.The state House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation that would bar drivers from sending, writing or reading a...

State Investigating Another Botched Surgery at Rhode Island Hospital

Oct 30 2009 // Health officials are investigating how a surgeon at Rhode Island Hospital mistakenly operated on the wrong part of a patient’s hand, the hospital’s fifth wrong-site surgery since 2007.Hospital President Timothy...

Report: Rhode Island Spends Most of Any State on Fire Aid

Oct 14 2009 // Rhode Island spends more money on fire protection than any state in the country, according to a report released Tuesday by a business-backed financial watchdog group.The study released by the Rhode Island Public...

New Hampshire Campground Owners Sued in Flood Death of R.I. Girl, 7

Oct 5 2009 // The family of a 7-year-old Rhode Island girl killed in a flash flood at a New Hampshire campground has sued its owners. Kaitlyn Ferra was vacationing with her parents, Brandon and Donna Ferra, and her brother at Ames Brook...

Rhode Island Insurer Dedicates Green Headquarters

Sep 21 2009 // A Rhode Island company says the new headquarters it’s dedicating in Johnston will be one of the greenest buildings in the state. Property insurance company FM Global says it’s applied for special green...

Rhode Island Agencies Form Network

Sep 11 2009 // Two Rhode Island insurance agencies have launched an affiliation group and are searching for potential partners, they said.Hunter Insurance and Loiselle Insurance Agency have created the Trusted Insurance Alliance (TIA) to...

Rates, Claim Frequency Still Declining in Workers’ Comp; Medical Costs Rise

Sep 7 2009 // Prices for workers’ compensation insurance in the United States declined in 2008 and, in general, that trend is likely to continue in throughout 2009, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance...

Iowa, Minnesota Get ‘A’, 9 States ‘F’ in Best, Worst States for Workers’ Comp

Aug 13 2009 // Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Utah and Virginia do the best job handling workers’ compensation injuries, while Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas and Wyoming perform the worst.That’s...