Sexual assault is not health care, and it isn’t covered by Utah’s medical malpractice law, the Utah Supreme Court ruled in a Thursday decision — an order that 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 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.
They took their case to the Utah Supreme Court, where their attorneys argued that the judge made an error when he ruled that Utah’s medical malpractice law covers any act or treatment performed by any health care provider during a patient’s medical care. The women had all been seeking health care, Judge Robert Lunnen wrote, and Broadbent was providing that when the alleged assaults happened.
The high court disagreed with Lunnen, and ruled that Broadbent’s alleged conduct was not a part of the women’s health care — and therefore, not covered by Utah’s medical malpractice laws.
“Here, the [women] do not allege they were injured by any health care that Broadbent may have provided them,” Justice Paige Petersen wrote in the unanimous ruling. “Rather, they allege that he abused his position as their doctor to sexually assault them under the pretense of providing health care.”
“The point of their claims is that his actions were not really health care at all,” Petersen added.
Stephanie Mateer was the first woman who spoke out publicly about Broadbent, detailing her experience on the Mormon Stories podcast in 2021. In the episode, she described what she said was the painful way he examined her, how it left her feeling traumatized and her discovery of reviews online that echoed her experience.
She said Thursday that she cried “tears of relief” when she read the Utah Supreme Court’s ruling, and said she hopes it gives other alleged victims the courage to speak and out seek their own justice.
“This decision affirms the obvious fact that sexual assault is not health care,” she said. “Further, it removes the protections of the Medical Malpractice Act from sexual predators who assault patients under the guise of medical care.”
Adam Sorenson, an attorney for the women who sued, noted Thursday that it’s been almost two years since Lunnen threw out their case — which he said was a “sad and disappointing day.”
“But the Utah Supreme Court’s decision today affirms everything these women have said from the beginning, and tells every person in Utah that sexual abuse by a health care provider never has been, and never will be, ‘health care,’” he said.
“It is difficult to describe how good it is to hear that from our highest court,” he continued, “but any joy I feel is nothing compared to the women who suffered sexual abuse, [who] were told it was just health care, have fought for three years, and can now say that the law in Utah is on their side on this important issue.”
Broadbent’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Neither Utah Valley Hospital nor Mountainstar Health, which owns Timpanogos Hospital, reacted to the ruling in statements released Thursday. Both hospitals are named as defendants in the lawsuit, and both emphasized that Broadbent had privileges to practice at their facilities but was not an employee.
It matters whether their case is considered malpractice or a civil sex assault claim because many of Broadbent’s accusers could lose their chance to sue if they have to file a malpractice claim, as those lawsuits have to be filed within a shorter, two-year window of time. And even for those who would still be able to sue, malpractice law also limits how much money they could receive for pain and suffering.
With the Utah Supreme Court’s decision, the case now returns to Lunnen’s courtroom and the women can move forward with their lawsuit.
The women’s lawsuit alleges Broadbent inappropriately touched their breasts, vaginas and rectums, without warning or explanation, and hurt them. Some said he used his bare hand — instead of using a speculum or wearing gloves — during exams. One alleged that she saw he had an erection while he was touching her.
An attorney for Broadbent has denied these women’s allegations, saying they are “without merit.” The OB-GYN agreed last year to stop practicing medicine while police and prosecutors investigate.
He was charged last month with one count of forcible sexual abuse, and prosecutors say their investigation is continuing. Broadbent is expected to make his first court appearance Monday.
The women’s lawsuit changed Utah law last year, after state legislators clarified that the medical malpractice act does not cover sexual assault. But the law change was not retroactive, so it didn’t help this group of women. Their hope lay instead with the Utah Supreme Court.
The women’s attorneys had argued that his clients were not complaining that they received improper or unnecessary medical care — the types of complaints that generally are considered medical malpractice. They allege they were assaulted.
Attorneys for Broadbent and the hospitals argued to the Utah Supreme Court that Lunnen properly ruled that the exams the women described “arose” out of health care treatments, and therefore, were covered by Utah’s medical malpractice law.
