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Monday, September 16, 2024

Utah Supreme Court Rules That Alleged Sexual Assault by a Doctor Is Not “Health Care”

Jessica Miller
The Salt Lake Tribune
ProPublica
Originally posted 9 August 24

Sexual assault is not health care, and it isn’t covered by Utah’s medical malpractice law, the state’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The decision revives a lawsuit filed by 94 women who allege their OB-GYN sexually abused them during exams or while he delivered their babies.

In 2022, the group of women sued Dr. David Broadbent and two hospitals where he had worked, wanting to seek civil damages. But a judge dismissed their case because he decided they had filed it incorrectly as a civil sexual assault claim rather than a medical malpractice case. The women had all been seeking health care, Judge Robert Lunnen wrote, and Broadbent was providing that when the alleged assaults happened.

The Salt Lake Tribune and ProPublica covered the decision, speaking with women about the lower court ruling that made it harder for them to sue the doctor for his alleged actions. After that story ran, the state Legislature voted to reform medical malpractice law to exclude sexual assault. But the new law didn’t apply retroactively; the women still had no way to sue.

So they took their case to the Utah Supreme Court, where their attorneys argued that the lower court judge had made an error in his decision. The high court agreed. Broadbent’s alleged conduct, it found, was not a part of the women’s health care — and therefore, not covered by Utah’s medical malpractice laws.


Here are some thoughts:

The Utah Supreme Court has ruled that sexual assault does not constitute health care, thereby reviving a lawsuit filed by 94 women against Dr. David Broadbent, an OB-GYN accused of sexually abusing them during medical exams and childbirth. The lawsuit, initially dismissed by a lower court judge who categorized it as a medical malpractice case, was brought back to life by the Supreme Court's decision. The women had sought civil damages against Broadbent and two hospitals where he practiced, but the judge had previously ruled that the alleged assaults occurred during health care provision, thus falling under medical malpractice laws. The Supreme Court, however, found that Broadbent's actions were not part of legitimate medical treatment, allowing the case to proceed outside the constraints of malpractice regulations.

The ruling marks a significant victory for the plaintiffs, who faced limitations on their ability to seek justice due to the initial classification of their claims. The decision follows legislative changes that excluded sexual assault from being considered medical malpractice, though these changes did not apply retroactively to the Broadbent case. The lawsuit alleges inappropriate and harmful conduct by Broadbent, including touching patients without explanation and using his position to commit sexual assaults. Broadbent, who has denied the allegations, has agreed to cease practicing medicine while under investigation and faces criminal charges of forcible sexual abuse. The case will now return to the lower court for further proceedings, offering the plaintiffs a renewed opportunity to seek justice.