WORKING GROUPS FORMED TO DISCUSS LAWSUIT, INSURANCE REFORMS

March 7, 2005

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin has formed working groups to discuss frivolous lawsuits and insurance reforms. After having been largely brushed aside during past fights over workers’ compensation and medical malpractice lawsuit limits, plaintiffs’ lawyers and labor groups aim to temper any civil system changes and match them with regulatory measures for insurers.

The lawsuit limits being considered include:

An end to joint and several liability. When a jury awards damages against more than one defendant, it assigns a percentage of blame to each. But state law allows the plaintiff to recover the award from whichever defendant can pay, making the defendants both jointly and individually liable for the damages.

An end to third-party bad-faith lawsuits, state law now allows non-policyholders to sue an insurance company that allegedly fails to deal with their claims against a policyholder in good faith.

An end to the deliberate intent standard, the workers’ compensation system was meant to replace the lawsuits that people used to file against their employers over workplace injuries. Employers may now be sued only if employees can prove deliberate intent to provide an unsafe workplace.

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