The state's medical malpractice insurer will pay a total of $3 million to five people who sued a former West Virginia osteopathic surgeon for malpractice.

The plaintiffs were patients of Dr. John King at Putnam General Hospital. Their malpractice lawsuits are among 124 stemming from surgeries King performed at the hospital between November 2002 and June 2003.

Most of the 124 lawsuits have been settled with Putnam General and its former owner, the Hospital Corporation of America. The settlements approved Wednesday by Putnam Circuit Judge Ed Eagloski are the first involving King himself.

King, who now lives in Alabama, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. He has surrendered his medical license in a number of states, including West Virginia.