Latest West Virginia Headlines

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

West Virginia Enforcing Texting While Driving Ban: 125 Convictions

May 7 2013 // In the first 10 months since a West Virginia law banned driving while texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone, 125 offenders have been convicted of doing just that.The Charleston Gazette said the number of convictions...

Miners’ Union Takes Unusual Legal Turn to Save Benefits in Bankruptcy

May 1 2013 // As mineworkers and retirees battle to salvage their pensions and benefits from the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal Corp., lawyers for their union are trying an unusual gambit – and one that may be a test case for...

Massive Overhaul of West Virginia Health System Urged

Apr 22 2013 // Few states spend as much on health care as West Virginia, but you wouldn’t know it from the results.That has a new study urging major changes, both for health services generally and the government agency that helps...

State Farm: 4,400 Wind-Hail Damage Claims in West Virginia in 2012

Apr 22 2013 // State Farm says the most common homeowner insurance claims in West Virginia are from wind and hail damage. The insurance company says there were nearly 4,400 such claims in the state last year. State Farm says the average...

West Virginia Supreme Court Fills Business Court Vacancy

Apr 16 2013 // Circuit Court Judge Thomas Evans III has been appointed to the West Virginia court system’s Business Court Division.The West Virginia Supreme Court said Chief Justice Brent Benjamin named Evans to replace former...

West Virginia Advances Limit on Nursing Home Liability

Apr 15 2013 // The West Virginia legislature has moved to limit the liability that nursing homes can face in potential lawsuits. The bill passed unanimously Saturday by the House explicitly applies the state’s Medical Professional...

Remembering 29 Miners Lost in West Virginia Blast 3 Years Ago

Apr 8 2013 // As West Virginians marked the third anniversary of an explosion that killed 29 coal miners Friday, congressional Democrats called the lack of action on tougher mine safety legislation “shameful.”Gov. Earl Ray...

BrickStreet Auditor, 4 Coal Contractors Plead Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud

Apr 1 2013 // A workers’ compensation auditor and four coal company contractors in West Virginia have pleaded guilty to federal charges in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme.Federal prosecutors said that Arville Sargent pleaded...

West Virginia Unlikely to Remove Local Guns Laws: Senate President

Mar 28 2013 // West Virginia Senate President Jeffrey Kessler says a bill that would eliminate municipal gun restrictions in four cities is unlikely to proceed.The bill passed the House with overwhelming support and recent rallies have...

West Virginia Vote on Seat Belt Law Due Today

Mar 28 2013 // West Virginia’s House of Delegates is back on track to vote on whether to allow traffic stops for failure to wear a seat belt.Legislation making that violation a primary offense has idled since the House Judiciary...

PCI Slams Oregon Bad Faith Proposals

Mar 22 2013 // A handful of bills proposed in Oregon could hit consumers with nearly $200 million in cost increases and yield a rash of lawsuits, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, which is urging Oregon...

West Virginia Senate Committee Backs Higher Auto Minimum Limits

Mar 20 2013 // A West Virginia Senate committee advanced a bill this week that would likely increase car insurance premiums for drivers who can least afford it, but also expand liability coverage for the highest-risk drivers.The bill...

West Virginia Bill Would Yank License of Drivers Refusing Blood Test

Mar 15 2013 // Under legislation debated this week, West Virginia drivers could have their licenses revoked for refusing to take a blood test after they’re arrested. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin proposed the bill to try to crack down on...

West Virginia Debates Property Insurance Nonrenewal Rules

Mar 13 2013 // In West Virginia and most other states, an insurer can choose not to renew people’s property insurance policy if a claim is filed over weather damage.A West Virginia Senate bill that would ban that practice was...

Texting While Driving Injuries to Rise Despite Bans, Warnings: Study

Mar 8 2013 // As states take measures to keep drivers from texting and talking while driving, a new report from researchers at the West Virginia University School of Public Health asserts the laws probably aren’t having much...

West Virginia Senate Bill Limits Nursing Home Liability

Mar 8 2013 // A limit would be placed on the amount nursing homes would be forced to pay if sued under a bill passed by the West Virginia Senate this week.The measure explicitly includes nursing homes under the protections of a 2003 law...

West Virginia Senate Votes to Limit Landowner Liability

Mar 7 2013 // The West Virginia Senate unanimously passed a bill that would ensure that property owners face very limited liability from trespassers on their land.In general, common law states that property owners cannot be sued by...

West Virginia Considers Landowner Liability Bill

Mar 6 2013 // The West Virginia Senate is weighing a bill that would ensure that property owners face very limited liability from trespassers on their land.In general, common law states that property owners cannot be sued by trespassers...

West Virginia House Leaders Seek Review of Appeals Process

Mar 1 2013 // Speaker Rick Thompson and other West Virginia House leaders have proposed a study of whether the recently revised process for handling civil appeals ensures a full and fair review, amid calls for expanding the...

BrickStreet Insurance Gives West Virginia University Record $4M Gift

Feb 28 2013 // West Virginia University’s College of Business and Economics has received the largest gift in its history. The university said that the BrickStreet Insurance Foundation donated $3 million to the college’s...