Senate Bill No. 636

(By Senators Kessler, Bowman, McKenzie, Edgell and Minard)

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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article seven-b, chapter fifty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to medical professional liability; and providing when a health care provider is not personally liable in excess of liability insurance policy limits.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section eight, 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-8. Limit on liability for noneconomic loss; no personal liability in excess of professional liability insurance coverage.

(a) In any medical professional liability action brought against a health care provider, the maximum amount recoverable as damages for noneconomic loss shall may not exceed one million dollars and the jury may be so instructed.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a health care provider is not personally liable for any damages in excess of the professional liability insurance coverage on that health care provider if: (1) The policy is for at least one million dollars for each incident and five million dollars in the aggregate; and (2) the health care provider has given his or her consent to settle a claim within the policy limits in response to a demand made for the limits at least thirty days prior to trial.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove any personal liability to a health care provider in excess of liability insurance policy limits when the policy limits are for at least one million dollars and the insurer has the health care provider's consent to settle a claim within the policy limits, prior to trial.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.