Moore v. St. Joseph's Hospital of Buckhannon

In Moore v. St. Joseph's Hospital of Buckhannon, No. 27460 (W.Va. filed July 7, 2000) (per curiam), the Court affirmed an allegedly inadequate verdict of $ 150,000 in a wrongful death medical malpractice action. There the Court set forth the applicable standard of reviewing an allegedly inadequate verdict in wrongful death cases, in part, as follows: In Kessel v. Leavitt, 204 W. Va. 95, 185, 511 S.E.2d 720, 810 (1998), this Court observed that "in the absence of any specific rules for measuring damages, the amount to be awarded rests largely in the discretion of the jury, and courts are reluctant to interfere with such a verdict." (Quoting 22 Am. Jur. 2d Damages 1021, at 1067 (1988) (footnote omitted). Generally, "we will not find a jury verdict to be inadequate unless it is a sum so low that under the facts of the case reasonable men cannot differ about its inadequacy." Syl. pt. 2, Fullmer v. Swift Energy Co., Inc., 185 W. Va. 45, 404 S.E.2d 534 (1991). (Moore, slip op. at 5.)