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Medical Malpractice Attorneys for Princeton, WV
Finding out that care in Princeton fell short can be painful, and sorting out whether it amounts to medical malpractice is a separate question from how you feel about it.
The sections below set out the West Virginia law that applies to malpractice claims and explain how to reach, through needanattorney.net, an attorney in our network who handles them.
When a Provider's Care Becomes a Malpractice Claim
Under W. Va. Code § 55-7B-3, a claim has two necessary elements: a failure to meet the degree of care, skill and learning a reasonable, prudent provider in that profession or class would show in the same or similar circumstances, and proximate cause of the injury or death.
If a claim is brought on a loss of chance theory, the plaintiff must also prove, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, that following the accepted standard of care would have resulted in a greater than 25 percent chance of an improved recovery or of survival (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-3).
An unexpected outcome does not prove a mistake. What matters is whether care in Princeton departed from accepted practice and whether that departure caused the harm.
Common Medical Malpractice Claims
The examples that follow are not a complete list, but they show how a claim connects what the provider did or failed to do to the harm.
Diagnostic errors
A late or missed diagnosis can allow an illness to progress. These claims look at what the provider did, what was reasonably available to do, and what an earlier diagnosis would have changed.
Mistakes during surgery
Surgery claims may involve an operation on the wrong site or patient, an instrument or object left in the body, damage to nearby structures, or a failure in anesthesia or aftercare. Each is looked at for whether it departed from accepted practice and caused the harm.
Errors with medications
A wrong drug, a wrong dose, a missed allergy or a harmful interaction can injure a patient. These claims ask who in the chain, the prescriber, pharmacist or nurse, made the error and whether it caused the harm.
Birth injuries
Claims about harm at birth look at the care given and ask whether a departure from accepted practice caused the injury, which is why complete records matter.
The West Virginia Filing Deadline
A medical professional liability action must be commenced within two years of the date of the injury or death, or within two years of the date the person discovers, or with reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, whichever last occurs (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-4).
A discovery rule does not reopen the case without limit: no action may be commenced more than 10 years after the medical injury (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-4). A child injured before age ten has until the 12th birthday if that is longer, and the periods are tolled while the provider conceals or misstates the facts through fraud or collusion (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-4(c) and (d)).
Concealment matters: under W. Va. Code § 55-7B-4, fraud or collusion by the provider in hiding or misstating material facts about the injury tolls the filing periods.
For nursing homes, assisted living facilities and the skilled nursing parts of acute care hospitals, W. Va. Code § 55-7B-4 sets one year from the injury or from discovery, whichever last occurs, and no more than 10 years after the injury.
Deadlines for Minors in West Virginia
West Virginia gives a child injured before the age of 10 until the 12th birthday or two years from the injury, whichever is longer (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-4).
The child’s age on the date of the injury decides which period applies under W. Va. Code § 55-7B-4, so a birth date and a treatment date are worth having ready.
What Must Happen Before You File
Before a lawsuit, West Virginia requires a notice of claim served by certified mail on each health care provider the claimant will join, at least 30 days before the complaint is filed (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-6).
W. Va. Code § 55-7B-6 requires the notice of claim to include a statement of the theories of liability, a list of the providers and facilities notified, and the screening certificate of merit.
What the certificate must contain is spelled out in W. Va. Code § 55-7B-6: the expert’s basis and qualifications, how the standard was breached, how the breach caused the injury or death, and the records reviewed.
Where no expert testimony is needed, a statement of the basis of liability takes the place of the certificate, and where time is short, a statement of intent allows 60 days to provide it, or 120 days for a nursing home, assisted living facility or a related entity, or for the nursing care part of an acute care hospital (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-6).
Mediation can come before the lawsuit: a provider that receives the notice may demand it, and W. Va. Code § 55-7B-6 requires it to be concluded within 45 days.
Expert Witnesses and the Standard of Care
West Virginia law has the standard of care proved by expert testimony when the court requires it (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-7), which makes finding the right expert an early task.
An expert has to be shown to hold the opinion, to be able to testify to it with reasonable medical probability, to know the applicable standard of care, to hold a current license, and to be engaged or qualified in a field with experience diagnosing or treating similar conditions (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-7).
There is a rebuttable presumption of competence when the expert spent sixty percent of professional time in clinical practice or teaching in the field at the time of the medical injury (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-7).
Damages in West Virginia Malpractice Claims
West Virginia limits noneconomic damages in a malpractice case to $250,000 for each occurrence, however many plaintiffs and defendants there are (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-8).
W. Va. Code § 55-7B-8 allows up to $500,000 for each occurrence for wrongful death, permanent and substantial deformity, loss of a limb or organ system, or a permanent injury that prevents independent self care.
Both limits increase each year with the Consumer Price Index, by an amount not to exceed one hundred fifty percent of the amounts in the statute, and they are not available to a defendant without at least $1,000,000 in medical professional liability insurance for each occurrence (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-8).
What a claim is worth depends on the injury, the proof and the allocation of fault, not on a statutory ceiling.
How Fault Is Divided Among Defendants
W. Va. Code § 55-7B-9 has the jury assign a percentage of fault to each plaintiff and each defendant, taking into account every alleged party, even one who has already settled.
W. Va. Code § 55-7B-9 directs judgment of several but not joint liability, so a defendant is liable in proportion to the fault assigned to it.
Because fault can be assigned to providers who are not defendants, identifying every provider involved in the care early matters.
Wrongful Death After a Medical Error
W. Va. Code § 55-7-6 has the personal representative bring the action and recover the amount for distribution to those entitled.
W. Va. Code § 55-7-6 sets two years from the death as the time to commence a wrongful death action.
W. Va. Code § 55-7-6 lists what a verdict includes: sorrow, mental anguish and solace, reasonably expected loss of income and services, care and hospital expenses, and funeral expenses.
Political Subdivisions in West Virginia
A separate act sets two years against a political subdivision from when the cause arose or the injury was or should have been discovered, with a longer period for a child under ten and tolling for concealment or fraud; the act does not cover hospitals of a political subdivision (W. Va. Code § 29-12A-3 and W. Va. Code § 29-12A-6).
Against a political subdivision, punitive damages are prohibited, economic loss is not limited, and noneconomic loss may not exceed $500,000 in favor of any one person, and a defendant with 25 percent or more of the negligence can be jointly and severally liable; the act does not cover hospitals of a political subdivision (W. Va. Code § 29-12A-3 and W. Va. Code § 29-12A-7).
Whether these rules apply to a particular malpractice claim, and what other steps are needed against a state or county provider, depends on who employed the provider, so it is worth telling the attorney at the start whether the hospital or clinic was public.
Courts for a Princeton Claim
Under W. Va. Code § 56-1-1, the circuit court of a county where a defendant resides or where the cause of action arose is a proper place to file; for treatment in Princeton, that can be Mercer County.
Local Courts and Hospitals in Princeton
Mercer County is the county the Census Bureau assigns to Princeton. The West Virginia Judiciary lists the Circuit Clerk for Mercer County in Princeton, in the 13th Judicial Circuit, at Mercer County Courthouse, 1501 Main Street, Princeton, WV 24740. The state trauma center list from the Office of Emergency Medical Services, dated December 16, 2022, shows Princeton Community Hospital in Princeton as a Level IV trauma center. If your care took place at a hospital like this, ask for the complete chart and an itemized bill, and write down every provider who treated you.
Next Steps for a Princeton Medical Malpractice Claim
A short written account of what happened, with the names of the providers and the dates, gives an attorney a useful starting point, even if you are missing some records.
Submit the form on this page and we will work to connect you with an attorney in our network who handles medical malpractice claims in West Virginia. Because filing deadlines are measured in years, not decades, it helps to ask early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does West Virginia have a discovery rule for malpractice?
W. Va. Code § 55-7B-4 allows two years from discovery and stops all claims 10 years after the injury. A child injured before age ten has until the 12th birthday if that is longer, and the periods are tolled while the provider conceals or misstates the facts through fraud or collusion (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-4(c) and (d)).
What is a screening certificate of merit?
A statement executed under oath by a qualified health care provider setting out the expert’s familiarity with the standard of care, qualifications, how it was breached, how the breach caused the injury, and the records reviewed (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-6).
How is fault divided among several providers?
The fact finder assigns a percentage of fault to each defendant, and judgment is several, not joint, according to those percentages (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-9).
Are damages limited against a political subdivision?
Yes, for most local government bodies: punitive damages are prohibited, economic loss is not limited and noneconomic loss may not exceed $500,000 for any one person (W. Va. Code § 29-12A-7), but the act does not cover hospitals of a political subdivision (W. Va. Code § 29-12A-3).
What qualifications must an expert have in West Virginia?
Sixty percent of professional time in clinical practice or teaching in the field at the time of the injury gives a rebuttable presumption of qualification (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-7).
Does West Virginia limit what I can recover for medical malpractice?
Noneconomic damages are limited to $250,000 for each occurrence, or $500,000 for wrongful death and certain permanent injuries, adjusted each year for inflation (W. Va. Code § 55-7B-8).
Who can bring a wrongful death claim in West Virginia?
The personal representative brings the claim in the name of the deceased person, within two years after the death (W. Va. Code § 55-7-6).
Other Pages That May Help
If the care happened elsewhere in West Virginia, these pages may be a better starting point.
