On April 18, 2013, the Virginia Supreme Court issued The Doctors Company v. Women’s Healthcare Associates, Inc., No. 120702. That 7-2 decision found the medical malpractice insurer owed coverage for a breach of contract claim arising out of the healthcare provider’s failure to participate in the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Act, Va. Code Ann. 38.2-5000, et seq., as represented.
On de novo review, The Doctors Company held that the parents’ breach of contract claim was covered under the medical malpractice policy as “professional services”. It also held that the alleged breach of contract did not arise out of a statutory violation, an exception to coverage.
