Travelers Injury Impact Report Highlights Longer Recovery Times Amid Declining Injury Rates
May 05, 2026 —
The Travelers Companies, Inc.HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) today released its 2026 Injury Impact Report, an analysis of more than 1.2 million workers compensation claims received by the company from 2021 through 2025. The report finds that even as workplace injury rates decline, the injuries that do occur are growing more complex and taking longer to heal – a trend driven by an aging workforce and the disproportionate vulnerability of first-year employees.
“The decrease in workplace injuries is a positive story, yet injured workers are still missing an average of 80 workdays,” said Claude Howard, Vice President of Workers Compensation Claim at Travelers. “This report is a reminder that progress doesn’t mean the risk environment requires any less attention, and an employer’s commitment to safety must keep pace with an ever-evolving workforce and injury landscape.”
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The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Yet Another Reason That Your Contract Matters
February 10, 2026 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsI have discussed on several occasions the fact that
construction contracts matter. The words in contracts matter and, in Virginia (as well as other states), most provisions, if not all
will be enforced to the letter. Recently, the Western District of Virginia federal court ruled in a way that reminded me of another reason for a well-drafted contract.
In
Rockingham Precast, Inc. v. American Infrastructure – Maryland, Inc. the Western District of Virginia Court considered a motion to transfer the venue to Maryland filed by American Infrastructure. The plaintiff, Rockingham Precast, a Virginia-based company sued in Virginia. American Infrastructure conceded that VA could be a proper forum for the lawsuit but argued that the form was much too inconvenient and costly for the party and non-party witnesses and that the cost made the forum an unfair place to try the case.
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The Law Office of Christopher G. HillMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
How a $1,400 Humanoid Hints at Construction’s Robotic Future
November 21, 2025 —
Aarni Heiskanen - AEC BusinessChinese startup Noetix launched Bumi, a bipedal robot that challenges mobile robots at a much heftier price. Is this just a whim or a breakthrough that could make robots a viable tool for even small construction companies?
The
Noetix Bumi robot is a humanoid robot designed primarily for educational and family use. It stands 94 cm (about 3 feet) tall, weighs 12 kg (26 pounds), and can run for 1 to 2 hours per charge.
Bumi walks on two legs with stable steps and performs flexible, complex movements, including dancing, enabled by proprietary motion-control algorithms that combine imitation and reinforcement learning.
Bumi has a front-facing camera that detects objects and faces, and it is also equipped with microphones for capturing spoken words, which it can process into actions such as following commands.
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Aarni Heiskanen, AEC BusinessMr. Heiskanen may be contacted at
aec-business@aepartners.fi
The Prefatory Wherefore Clauses in Agreements Matter
November 18, 2025 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesWhen drafting agreements, the language matters. This is because agreements are not intended to be construed in a vacuum. Sections of an agreement are not to be interpreted in isolation. Agreements are intended to be constructed in the context of the ENTIRE agreement. This is why there is tremendous value in the drafting of the agreement and the negotiation of the agreement. Neglecting this value can bring a large number of headaches, headaches that cost money and lead to undesirable consequences.
When drafting agreements, it has become routine to include prefatory clauses. Sometimes, these are known as the “Wherefore clauses,” that setup up the stage of the agreement before the numbered sections or paragraphs kick in. These Wherefore clauses show up in contracts and settlement agreements, and they matter.
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David Adelstein, Kirwin NorrisMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com
Kahana Feld Earns Recognition in Five Practice Areas in 2026 Best Law Firms® Rankings
December 15, 2025 —
Eva Paulson - Kahana FeldIRVINE, CA – Nov. 6, 2025 – Kahana Feld is pleased to announce that the firm has been recognized across five practice areas in the 2026 edition of Best Law Firms®. Now in its 16th year, Best Law Firms provides a comprehensive guide to the top-performing firms across 127 practice areas and 188 local jurisdictions.
A listing of Kahana Feld’s 2026 rankings follows:
Orange County
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law (Metropolitan Tier 2)
- Litigation – Real Estate (Metropolitan Tier 3)
- Real Estate Law (Metropolitan Tier 3)
New York City
- Litigation – Insurance (Metropolitan Tier 3)
Houston
- Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (Metropolitan Tier 3)
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Eva Paulson, Kahana FeldMs. Paulson may be contacted at
epaulson@kahanafeld.com
Toolbox Talk Series: GenAI Document Review
January 06, 2026 —
Brendan J. Witry - The Dispute ResolverThis month's installment of the Toolbox Talk Series explored the use of Generative AI in document review, which as construction lawyers know can be voluminous. Jack Bandlow and Travis Olson from BRG provided an overview of how lawyers can use GenAI to make document review in construction litigation more efficient.
Like other uses of GenAI, it is a tool that is not designed to replace lawyers. Rather it helps eliminate or reduce mundane or tedious tasks that are not the highest and best use of a lawyer's time. The AI-powered document review platforms are designed to recognize patterns in documents and transforms words and text into "vectors" to group concepts with similar meanings. For example, whereas a traditional keyword search for "weather delay" will only return hits on that keyword, a search utilizing vectoring will also search for conceptually similar terms, even if the keyword does not match. These tools can use natural language searches to return results that a responsive to the prompt.
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Brendan J. Witry, Laurie & Brennan LLPMr. Witry may be contacted at
bwitry@lauriebrennan.com
Celebrating BWB&O’s 2026 Super Lawyers Rising Stars in San Diego!
March 31, 2026 —
Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLPBremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP is proud to announce that Partners
Jocelyn Russo,
Christina Matian, and Associate
Angelo Perillo have been named to the Super Lawyers 2026 San Diego Rising Stars list. This recognition highlights their outstanding dedication and distinguished service in Family Law, Civil Litigation, and Personal Injury Litigation.
SUPER LAWYERS
Jocelyn Russo: 2023-2026
Christina Matian: 2024-2026
Angelo Perillo: 2024-2026
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Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP
Court Ends Trump Shutdown of NY's $5B Empire Wind, Second Offshore Project Revived
February 17, 2026 —
Debra K. Rubin - Engineering News-RecordIn a much-anticipated decision Jan. 15, the federal district court in Washington, D.C., revoked a construction shutdown ordered by the Trump administration against another major East Coast offshore wind project—the $5-billion Empire Wind underway south of New York City. The project's developer, Norway-based Equinor, won a stay and preliminary injunction in response to its lawsuit and one from the state, which aims to direct most of the project's planned 810 MW of power generation to the city's metro area.
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