Opinion

High court ruling a black eye for West Virginia

An editorial from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — In a baffling decision that can only be viewed as a step backward for the Mountain State, the West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that drug addicts can sue doctors and pharmacies. This nonsensical decision by the high court justices is a slap in the face to the state’s ongoing struggle against prescription drug abuse.

Last week’s ruling comes only months after lawmakers in Charleston passed long-overdue tort reform measures aimed at improving the state’s undesirable legal climate. So much for common sense reform. In their controversial 3-2 decision, the justices ruled that pharmacies and doctors who negligently prescribe pain medication can be sued for enabling people’s addictions. But such a preposterous ruling will only create a more polluted legal environment for West Virginia. And perhaps the justices have forgotten, but West Virginia — and southern West Virginia in particular — is still fighting a daily war against the deadly scourge of prescription drug abuse. And the drug problem has reached epidemic levels in recent years.

But Chief Justice Margaret Workman said a plaintiff’s wrongful or immoral conduct does not prohibit them from seeking damages as the result of the actions of others. The court also wrote that a jury can decide the extent to which the actions of a person engaged in criminal activity contributed to an alleged injury.

Justices Allen Loughry and Menis Ketchum wrote separate dissenting — and correct— opinions in the 3-2 decision .

“There are no even remotely innocent victims here,” Loughry correctly wrote…

 

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

And get our latest content in your inbox

Invalid email address