Moats v. Preston County Commission

In Moats v. Preston County Commission, 206 W.Va. 8, 521 S.E.2d 180 (1999), the Court adopted a specific standard of care applicable to wrongful death by suicide that requires the demonstration of a specific relationship between the deceased and the caretakers which gives rise to a duty to prevent the decedent from committing suicide. The Court held in that case that an oral order has the same force, effect, and validity in the law as a written order. In other words, the actual physical possession of a written order is not required to effectuate said order.