ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2011
(
By Delegate Long
)
[Passed April 9, 2005; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT
to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto anew section, designated §55-7-23, relating to
removing health care providers' exposure to liability where,
in certain cases involving prescription drugs and medical
devices, a person has been injured; and exceptions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §55-7-23, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. ACTIONS FOR INJURIES.
§55-7-23. Prescription drugs and medical devices; limiting health
care providers' liability exposure.
(a) No health care provider, as defined in section two,
article seven-b of this chapter, is liable to a patient or third
party for injuries sustained as a result of the ingestion of a
prescription drug or use of a medical device that was prescribed or used by the health care provider in accordance with instructions
approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration regarding the
dosage and administration of the drug, the indications for which
the drug should be taken or device should be used, and the
contraindications against taking the drug or using the device:
Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not apply if:
(1)the health care provider had actual knowledge that the drug or
device was inherently unsafe for the purpose for which it was
prescribed or used or (2)a manufacturer of such drug or device
publicly announces changes in the dosage or administration of such
drug or changes in contraindications against taking the drug or
using the device and the health care provider fails to follow such
publicly announced changes and such failure proximately caused or
contributed to the plaintiff's injuries or damages.
(b) The provisions of this section are not intended to create
a new cause of action.
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