West Virginia Code 55-7B-5 – Health care actions; complaint; specific amount of damages not to be stated; limitation on bad faith claims; filing of first party bad faith claims; when plaintiff’s criminal conduct bars recovery
(d) No action related to the prescription or dispensation of controlled substances may be maintained against a health care provider pursuant to this article by or on behalf of a person whose damages arise as a proximate result of a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, as set forth in chapter sixty-a of this code, the commission of a felony, a violent crime which is a misdemeanor, or any other state or federal law related to controlled substances: Provided, That an action may be maintained pursuant to this article if the plaintiff alleges and proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the health care provider dispensed or prescribed a controlled substance or substances in violation of state or federal law, and that such prescription or dispensation in violation of state or federal law was a proximate cause of the injury or death.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 55-7B-5
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.