In Feds Should Look At West Virginia Reform Laws, Donna Brinkel, RN, writes:
Thanks to civil justice reform, West Virginia is ahead of many states in reform laws. We need to ensure the same kind of proactive legislation continues at state and federal levels while investigating other alternatives.
The West Virginia Legislature has worked to pass laws to secure the medical liability system and maintain patient access to care. Reformation included a state-run insurance program for physicians to obtain liability insurance, a tax credit to assist with their rising premiums, prohibition of third-party bad faith claims, requiring notice of claims and a certificate of merit prior to filing a medical malpractice claim, expansion of the juries in medical liability cases from six to 12 members, a $250,000 non-economic damages cap, a $500,000 trauma cap, elimination of joint liability, creation of a patient injury fund, and more stringent medical expert witness requirements.
Excerpted from bdtonline.com.
