Latest West Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

West Virginia Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit by Fired Superintendent

Nov 12 2015 // A former West Virginia schools superintendent cannot sue the state Board of Education over its decision to fire her, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.The court ruled in favor of the board, which appealed a...

West Virginia Dog Wins Award for Most Unusual Pet Insurance Claim

Nov 9 2015 // A dog that ate a barbecue skewer has won a national competition for most unusual pet insurance claim. The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports that the 5-year-old Boxer named Curtis beat out 11 other pets in online voting for...

West Virginia Official Says Miner Drug Abuse Rising

Nov 3 2015 // The director of West Virginia’s mine safety office says there is a growing substance abuse problem among miners.Director Eugene White of the Office of Mine Health, Safety and Training told legislators last month that...

West Virginia Train Derailment Lawsuit Moved to Federal Court

Oct 30 2015 // A lawsuit filed stemming from a fiery February derailment of a CSX oil train in Mount Carbon has been moved to federal court.The Register-Herald reports that the lawsuit by more than 200 residents was moved to U.S....

Former West Virginia Mine Worker Talks Safety Shortcuts in Blankenship Trial

Oct 26 2015 // A key government witness testified in West Virginia that prosecutors had threatened to charge him alongside his old coal boss, and he was under an immunity agreement Friday when he took the stand.In the criminal trial of...

Report: West Virginia Leads U.S. in Prescription Drug Overdoses

Oct 19 2015 // Nearly 2,900 West Virginians have overdosed on prescription painkillers or heroin over the past five years, according to the state Health Statistics Center.The center also said overdose deaths last year were the highest in...

Patriot Coal Reaches Mine Site Clean-Up Deal with West Virginia

Oct 15 2015 // Patriot Coal and West Virginia environmental regulators have reached an agreement in which the company will set aside more than $50 million to cover cleanup costs at its former mine sites in the state.The Department of...

West Virginia Widow Settles Wrongful Death Suit with Energy Companies for $18M

Oct 12 2015 // Energy companies will pay $18 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the widow of a man who died in a flash fire at a natural gas station in Tyler County, West Virginia. The settlement involves the April 2013...

DuPont Found Liable in West Virginia Toxic Water Lawsuit

Oct 8 2015 // DuPont Co. was found liable for a woman’s kidney cancer in the first of 3,500 lawsuits over a toxic Teflon ingredient found in Ohio and West Virginia water, but spinoff Chemours Co. will have to bear any costs from...

West Virginia Files Suit Against Volkswagen Over Clean Diesel Claims

Oct 7 2015 // West Virginia may be the first U.S. state to sue Volkswagen AG for deceiving car buyers after the Environmental Protection Agency said last month that the company had installed software to hide that its diesel engines...

Deadly West Virginia Mine Explosion Trial Puts Spotlight on Massey’s King Coal

Oct 6 2015 // Before death came to Upper Big Branch Mine, Donald L. Blankenship managed his patch of Appalachia like King Coal incarnate.Outside homes in rural West Virginia flew the banner of his company, Massey Energy Co.: a flame...

Trial Set to Start for Former Energy CEO in Deadly West Virginia Mine Blast

Sep 29 2015 // Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship hits the courtroom for a criminal trial Thursday, facing charges that he conspired to break safety laws and lied to financial regulators about safety practices at the site of the...

Drought-Related Disaster Loans Available to 2 West Virginia Counties

Sep 23 2015 // Small businesses and private nonprofit organizations in two counties in West Virginia can apply for federal disaster loans for economic injury resulting from drought. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s economic...

Bayer CropScience Settles West Virginia Explosion Suit for $5.6M

Sep 23 2015 // Bayer CropScience LP has reached a $5.6 million settlement over an explosion at its Institute, West Virginia, facility that killed two people in 2008, U.S. authorities said on Monday. The company will spend $4.23 million...

West Virginia Livestock Producers Offered Pilot Insurance Program

Sep 21 2015 // A pilot insurance program is being offered to West Virginia livestock producers to help manage financial risk. The Rainfall Index Pasture, Rangeland, Forage program’s payments aren’t based on single weather...

West Virginia Funeral Home Sued for Filing False Death Claims to Insurers

Sep 21 2015 // The operators of a Putnam County, West Virginia funeral home are being accused of filing false death claims to insurance companies on behalf of pre-need contract customers who were still alive.Attorney General Patrick...

West Virginia Golf Event Organizers Respond to Holes-in-One Insurance Lawsuit

Sep 17 2015 // The nonprofit behind the PGA Tour’s Greenbrier Classic says it wasn’t informed until after the tournament its insurance wouldn’t cover cash prizes for holes-in-one on holes deemed too short.In a...

First Trial Begins Against DuPont Over West Virginia C-8 Exposure

Sep 15 2015 // Chemical giant DuPont faced its first trial Monday in litigation from residents near one of its plants in West Virginia who have accused the company of sickening them by emitting a toxic chemical that leaked into their...

Odds of Drivers Having Collision with Animal: 1 Out of 169

Sep 14 2015 // The odds drivers will have a claim from hitting a deer, elk or moose is 1 out of 169, the same as in 2014. That likelihood more than doubles during October, November and December, when deer collisions are most prevalent,...

University in West Virginia to Require Risk Management Training of Greek System

Sep 14 2015 // Marshall University is requiring its fraternity and sorority chapters to undergo training for risk management and party hosting after hundreds of students had to be dispersed by police last month. Marshall says in a news...