Roush v. West

By Judge Edward L. Hogshire

This medical malpractice action arose from the purportedly negligent acts of Defendants David S. Lim, M.D., James C. West, M.D., and Sandra S. Dean, R.N., which allegedly led to the wrongful death of Trenton Curry Roush. The issues presented here are Dr. West’s and Nurse Dean’s special pleas of sovereign immunity. “A plea of sovereign immunity is a defensive plea presenting distinct issues of fact which, if proved, create a bar to the plaintiff’s right of recovery.” Whitley v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 482, 493, 538 S.E.2d 296, 302 (2000). As the moving parties,…