Senate Bill No. 251
(By Senator Minard)
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[Introduced February 28, 2001; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article seven-b, chapter
fifty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring a
plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit to file, within
thirty days of the filing of a complaint, a certified
deposition of a medical expert supporting the allegations of
the complaint.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five, article seven-b, chapter fifty-five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7B. MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY.
§55-7B-5. Health care actions; complaint; specific amount of
damages not to be stated; requirement that certified
deposition of medical expert be filed within thirty
days.
(a) In any medical professional liability action against a
health care provider, no specific dollar amount or figure may be
included in the complaint, but the complaint may include a
statement reciting that the minimum jurisdictional amount
established for filing the action is satisfied. However, any party
defendant may at any time request a written statement setting forth
the nature and amount of damages being sought. The request shall
be served upon the plaintiff who shall serve a responsive statement
as to the damages sought within thirty days thereafter. If no
response is served within the thirty days, the party defendant
requesting the statement may petition the court in which the action
is pending to order the plaintiff to serve a responsive statement.
(b) A plaintiff shall file within thirty days of the filing of
an action against any health care provider, a certified deposition
transcript of a qualified expert in the same field as the named
defendant health care provider, which supports the allegations
contained in the complaint. The failure to meet the requirement of
this subsection shall be grounds for dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require a
plaintiff in
a medical malpractice lawsuit to file within thirty days of the
filing of a complaint, a certified deposition of a medical expert
supporting the allegations of the complaint
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.