MacDonald v. City Hosp. (Summary)

MALPRACTICE CAPS

MacDonald v. City Hosp., Inc., No. 35543 (W.Va. June 22, 2011)

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia upheld the constitutionality of a statute setting caps of $500,000 for non‑economic damages in medical malpractice cases involving death or significant injury, and caps of $250,000 for non-economic damages in other malpractice cases. The court found that the legislature had the power to institute such caps in an attempt to attract physicians to the state by decreasing medical malpractice premiums, and noted that its decision was consistent with the majority of jurisdictions that have considered caps on non-economic damages.

In addition, the court affirmed the lower court’s decision to deny the hospital’s motions for summary judgment, judgment as a matter of law, and for a new trial as to the patient’s negligence claim against the hospital. It agreed with the lower court that, pursuant to the hospital’s own policies and procedures, the pharmacy had a duty to alert the physician of possible adverse interactions of the medicines he prescribed. And the court found that it was reasonable for the jury to conclude that the failure of the pharmacy to warn the physician was a proximate cause of the patient’s injuries.