West Virginia Senate Bill Limits Nursing Home Liability

The West Virginia Senate passed a bill limiting the amount of money that nursing homes would have to pay if they are sued.

The bill passed Wednesday explicitly includes nursing homes under the protections of a 2003 law that places limits on medical malpractice suits.

That law places a $500,000 cap on the non-economic damages that health care providers are liable for.

The 2003 law defined nursing homes as health care facilities, but left it ambiguous as to whether they were also protected as health care providers.

In 2011 a jury found a Charleston nursing home liable for $91 million in damages for the death of an 87-year old woman.

It was the second consecutive day that the Senate passed a bill limiting the power of injured parties to sue.