John Marshall, a California obstetrician, was retained in 1999 by the parents of Jared Tanner Wilson, whose premature birth at IHC's Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo resulted in permanent brain damage. In February, Marshall backed out just as the case was going to trial, saying his involvement was causing considerable stress in his marriage.

Convinced IHC had improperly pressured his wife, Marshall signed an affidavit saying so. In it, he cited a December 2004 telephone conversation Elaine Marshall had with IHC risk management administrator Karie Minaga-Miya.

"My wife told me that this IHC representative informed her that IHC was upset that her husband [me] was acting as an expert for the plaintiffs in the Wilson case and that unless I withdrew as a witness, it would prove to be embarrassing for her," Marshall states in the Feb. 28 affidavit.

After the call, his wife expressed fears that Marshall's role in the case could compromise financial donations to the school and placement of its nursing students in IHC hospitals.

IHC denied the allegations and last week, as the Daily Herald in Provo was preparing a story on the witness-tampering allegations, Elaine Marshall refuted her husband's version of events.

Minaga-Miya's call was an "entirely appropriate" heads-up about a potential conflict of interest and that's all, Elaine Marshall said in a written statement. "At no time did anyone from IHC exert pressure of any kind on me," she added.

In an interview from California, John Marshall said he merely assumed his wife's anguish was the result of pressure exerted by IHC. "That's not the case," Marshall said. "I made a serious mistake." He expressed regret for causing his wife the kind of embarrassment he had hoped to spare her by stepping down from the case. And he lashed out at the attorneys to whom he had once pledged his cooperation.

"Had I known this was going to be used against IHC, which is against my wife, I wouldn't have signed it," he said. "I was used."

IHC spokeswoman Janet Frank said the hospital will ask the 4th District Court in Provo to throw out the affidavit on the basis that it is inaccurate and based on hearsay. Roger Christensen, the Salt Lake City attorney representing the Wilsons, did not return phone calls Tuesday or Wednesday.

lfantin@sltrib.com