Attorneys say West Virginia damage caps don't apply to nursing aide negligence.
The Charleston (WV) Gazette (8/21, Taylor) reported attorneys for a negligence case are preparing for a challenge to a $91.5 million jury award that "may be subject to" West Virginia's $500,000 noneconomic damage cap. Heartland of Charleston nursing home was found negligent in the malnourishment death of Tom Douglas' mother. Douglas' attorneys argue the cap shouldn't apply, "because nursing aids are not qualified to give medication to patients or provide assistance in the same way that a licensed physician could, little to no medical negligence actually occurred." West Virginia Association for Justice President Paul Farrell Jr. said, "In general, the medical malpractice act applies to health care services that are rendered to a patient. ... That's a very narrow application of what the cap applied to."
The Charleston (WV) Gazette (8/21, Taylor) reported attorneys for a negligence case are preparing for a challenge to a $91.5 million jury award that "may be subject to" West Virginia's $500,000 noneconomic damage cap. Heartland of Charleston nursing home was found negligent in the malnourishment death of Tom Douglas' mother. Douglas' attorneys argue the cap shouldn't apply, "because nursing aids are not qualified to give medication to patients or provide assistance in the same way that a licensed physician could, little to no medical negligence actually occurred." West Virginia Association for Justice President Paul Farrell Jr. said, "In general, the medical malpractice act applies to health care services that are rendered to a patient. ... That's a very narrow application of what the cap applied to."
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