It Figures

$72.5 Million

Class-action settlement paid by The Hartford over structured settlements in personal injury and worker’ compensation cases. The lawsuit, which covers 21,500 people, alleged The Hartford purchased annuities from its life insurance subsidiary and deducted as much as 15 percent in undisclosed costs from the promised value of the annuity. Meanwhile, The Hartford’s life insurance subsidiary was accused of paying a kickback to the property and casualty companies each year of a portion of the 15 percent.

$3 Million

Settlement reached in a lawsuit over strip searches for nonviolent offenders at a jail in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Officials said they agreed to settle because the courts have recently favored plaintiffs in similar cases. Plaintiffs had sued over routine strip searches for those accused of misdemeanor or summary offenses. The settlement covers about 12,500 people.

21,870

Number of cars stolen last year in New York, a 13 percent drop from the 25,114 stolen the previous year. The 2000 Honda Civic topped the list of most-stolen cars in the Empire State last year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). Rounding out the top three were the 1994 Honda Accord – which is the most-stolen car nationwide – and the 1996 Dodge Caravan.

24%

Year-over-year decrease in workplace fatalities in Virginia last year. A new state report show 118 workers died on the job in 2009, down from 156 in 2008. Forty-two workers were killed in transportation incidents, down from 52 in 2008. Despite the decline, transportation incidents remained the leading cause of on-the-job deaths in Virginia. Assaults and violent acts resulted in 31 deaths, compared to 37 in 2008.

$0

Amount awarded by a Pennsylvania jury to four people who claimed they were sickened by a gasoline spill that contaminated hundreds of homes almost two decades ago. Jurors found that the two couples involved in the lawsuit waited too long to sue Exxon Mobil and three other companies over a massive leak from underground storage tanks in 1993.