(a) A manufacturer or seller of a prescription drug or medical device may not be held liable in a product liability action for a claim based upon inadequate warning or instruction unless the claimant proves, among other elements, that:
(1) The manufacturer or seller of a prescription drug or medical device acted unreasonably in failing to provide reasonable instructions or warnings regarding foreseeable risks of harm to prescribing or other health care providers who are in a position to reduce the risks of harm in accordance with the instructions or warnings; and
(2) Failure to provide reasonable instructions or warnings was a proximate cause of harm.
(b) It is the intention of the Legislature in enacting this section to adopt and allow the development of a learned intermediary doctrine as a defense in cases based upon claims of inadequate warning or instruction for prescription drugs or medical devices.
Structure West Virginia Code
Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale
Article 7. Actions for Injuries
§55-7-3. Unlawful Seizure or Attachment
§55-7-4. Action of Replevin Abolished
§55-7-5. Action for Death by Wrongful Act
§55-7-7. Compromise of Claim for Death by Wrongful Act
§55-7-8. Personal Injury Action Where Injuries Result in Death
§55-7-8a. Actions Which Survive; Limitations; Law Governing Such Actions
§55-7-9. Violation of Statutes
§55-7-10. Trespass Abolished; Trespass on the Case to Lie in Lieu Thereof
§55-7-11. Suits Against Unincorporated Common Carriers
§55-7-13a. Modified Comparative Fault Standard Established
§55-7-13c. Liability to Be Several; Amount of Judgment; Allocation of Fault
§55-7-14. Liability of Visual or Sound Broadcasting Stations for Defamatory Statements
§55-7-15. Aid to Victim of Accident and Victim of Crime; Immunity From Civil Liability
§55-7-16. Immunity From Liability for Ski Patrol Rendering Emergency Care
§55-7-18a. Employer Immunity From Liability; Disclosure of Information Regarding Former Employees
§55-7-20. Limiting Civil Liability of Nonprofits for Arranging Passage on Excursion Trains
§55-7-22. Civil Relief for Persons Resisting Certain Criminal Activities
§55-7-23. Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices; Limiting Health Care Providers' Liability Exposure
§55-7-27. Liability of Possessor of Real Property for Harm to a Trespasser
§55-7-29. Limitations on Punitive Damages
§55-7-31. Limitation on Products Liability Actions; Innocent Seller