I was reading a book from the 1970's about a dam break in West
Virginia.  It said at the time, there was a $10,000 cap on wrongful
death in the state.  Is this still true?

Does West Virginia have a $10,000 'cap' on wrongful death to this day?

Dear extracuvee-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question.

?In West Virginia the jury is instructed that the maximum it may award
against a health care provider for non-economic loss is $1,000,000. W.
Va. Code § 55-7B-8 (1994). This statute has been held to be
constitutional. Robinson v. Charleston Area Medical Center, 186 W. Va.
720, 414 S.E.2d 877 (1991). Non-economic loss is defined as including,
but not limited to, pain, suffering, mental anguish, and grief. W. Va.
Code § 55-7B-2(g) (1994).?
MCCULLOUGH, CAMPBELL & LANE, ATTORNEYS AT LAW
http://www.mcandl.com/westvirginia.html#VII

West Virginia Code §55-7-6(b) says (in part):

?In every such action for wrongful death, the jury, or in a case tried
without a jury, the court, may award such damages as to it may seem
fair and just??

WEST VIRGINIA CODE
§55-7-6. By whom action for wrongful death to be brought; amount and
distribution of damages; period of limitation.
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/wvacode_VOpenFile.cfm?serverFilePath=E%3A%5CInetpub%5Cwwwroot%5CWVCODE%5C55%5CWVC%2055%20%20%2D%20%207%20%20%2D%20%20%206%20%20%2Ehtm

This, of course, pertains to certain statutory limitations:

The limit on liability for non-economic loss is a maximum of $500,000,
or $1,000,000 per occurrence depending on the circumstances.

WEST VIRGINIA CODE
§55-7B-8. Limit on liability for noneconomic loss.
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/wvacode_VOpenFile.cfm?serverFilePath=E%3A%5CInetpub%5Cwwwroot%5CWVCODE%5C55%5CWVC%2055%20%20%2D%20%207%20B%2D%20%20%208%20%20%2Ehtm

In addition there is no statutory limitations to the economic or
punitive awards a court may impose.

WEST VIRGINIA TORT LAW PROFILE
http://www.legalreforminthenews.com/Tort%20Profiles/WV_Tort_Laws.html

So in essence, the answer is NO. Today there is no $10,000 ?cap? on
wrongful death suits in the state of West Virginia.

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

WRONGFUL DEATH CAPS FO0R AL STATES
http://www.hurt911.org/wrongfuldeathcap.html



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Excellent resources and incredibly fast response.