Dennis Whedbee’s crew was rushing to prepare an oil well for pumping on the Sweet Grass Woman lease site, a speck of dusty plains rich with crude in Mandaree, North Dakota. It was getting late that September afternoon in 2012. … Source: Claims Journal

The Missouri House gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill to reinstate limits on how much juries can award in noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases against health care providers. Supporters said the limits, approved 101-53, are needed to make … Source: Claims Journal

Authorities say a Pennsylvania man called an insurance company from a crash scene to buy auto coverage and later claimed his wreck happened after he got the policy. The Altoona Mirror reports that the insurance fraud charges filed this week … Source: Claims Journal

Some of New York City’s most dangerous streets are about to get safer as part of a $250 million project that will target roadways in the outer boroughs where dozens of pedestrians have been killed or injured in recent years. … Source: Claims Journal

The Nebraska Emergency Agency will change its policy so that communities rebuilding after a disaster can get reimbursed faster. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the new procedure will reimburse communities after each individual project has been completed, rather than waiting … Source: Claims Journal

The global economic losses from natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, droughts and cyclones and have continued rising to reach an average of $250 billion to $300 billion annually, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday. The report, produced by the … Source: Claims Journal

Tennessee may soon have its own answer to an alternative workers’ compensation insurance option through new legislation by Republican lawmakers known as the Tennessee Employee Injury Benefit Alternative. Tennessee State Senator Mark Green and State Representative Jeremy Durham introduced Senate … Source: Claims Journal

Tim Lynch, government affairs director, for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, recently spoke to Claims Journal to discuss anti-fraud legislation in 2015. Although all is quiet on the federal level, there is significant activity among three key states. Minnesota has … Source: Claims Journal

A long anticipated El Nino has finally arrived. But for drought-struck California, it’s too little, too late, meteorologists say. The National Weather Service on Thursday proclaimed the phenomenon is now in place. It’s a warming of a certain patch of … Source: Claims Journal

“The devastation and damage to homes and businesses caused by tornadoes can and should be reduced by better construction methods,” said Dr. Tim Reinhold, chief engineer and senior vice president of research, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). … Source: Claims Journal