McDavid v. United States

STARCHER, Chief Justice:

This case is before the Court upon a question certified from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. By order entered December 17, 2001, the district court presented the following certified question:

Whether a decedent’s beneficiaries may recover damages for a decedent’s pain and suffering, incurred between the time of injury and the time of death, where the injuries result in death but the decedent did not institute an action for personal injury prior to his or her death?

After careful consideration of West Virginia’s wrongful death…