WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By Delegates
Rohrbach, Sobonya, Miller, C. and Romine, C.
[
to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL to amend the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated
§55-7B-9e, relating to limiting recoverable damages when a patient has been
transferred from health care facility to another health care facility; and
providing an exception.
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 §55-7B-9e, to read as follows:
ARTICLE
7B. MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY.
§55-7B-9e. Limitation
of recoverable civil damages; exception.
(a) The damages
limitations set forth in this section are in effect in any civil action brought
under this article on or after the effective date of this section for injury to
or death of a patient who has been transferred from health care facility as a result
of the patient having been determined by a licensed health care professional at
a transferring health care facility to be in a condition such that the patient
is in need of health care services or a level of health care services not
available at the transferring facility, when such injury or death is alleged or
determined by the trier of fact to have been a result of health care services
rendered at or while en route to a receiving hospital for the condition or
conditions that precipitated the transfer, or for any related conditions, or
when such injury or death is alleged or determined by the trier of fact to be a
result of failure to render such services.
(b) In any civil action
subject to this section, the total amount of damages recoverable against a
receiving hospital, health care providers who provided services at a receiving
hospital, any entity that provided transport of the patient to a receiving
hospital, and persons who provided services to the patient during transport to
a receiving hospital, may not exceed $500,000 for each occurrence, exclusive of
interest computed from the date of judgment, and regardless of the number of
plaintiffs or the number of defendants and, in the case of wrongful death,
regardless of the number of distributees.
(c) On January 1, 2018,
and in each year thereafter, the amount of recoverable damages set forth in
subsection (b) of this section shall increase to account for inflation as
determined by the Consumer Price Index published by the United States
Department of Labor: Provided, That
the amount of such recoverable damages shall not be more than $1,500,000,
regardless of inflation or deflation.
(d) The limitation of
liability in subsection (b) of this section also applies to any act or omission
of a health care provider in rendering continued care or assistance in the
event that surgery is required as a result of a condition described in
subsection (a) of this section.
(e) There is a
rebuttable presumption in civil actions that are subject to this section that a
medical condition which arises in the course of follow-up care provided by a
health care provider at a receiving hospital where care for the original
condition that precipitated the transfer is related to that original condition.
(f) The limitations of
liability provided under subsection (b) of this section do not apply to any act
or omission in rendering care for a condition that is unrelated to the
condition or conditions that precipitated the transfer or to any act or
omission that is done or omitted in willful and wanton disregard of a risk of
serious harm to the patient.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to limit recoverable damages when a patient has been transferred from health
care facility to another health care facility. The bill provides an exception.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.