A Utah judge has thrown out a lawsuit against David Broadbent, MD, who was sued for alleged sexual assault by 94 former patients, ProPublica reported Feb. 22.
The judge ruled the case falls under the state's medical malpractice law, not sexual assault. This would award the patients significantly less in restitutions because there is a legal cap of $450,000 for medical malpractice cases and no cap for sexual assault cases, according to the publication.
The 94 women have appealed the ruling to Utah's Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear the case.
The lawsuit also names Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health's Utah Valley Hospital in Provo and Salt Lake City-based MountainStar Healthcare — two hospitals where Dr. Broadbent worked and some of the alleged assaults occurred — as defendants.
Both health systems said Dr. Broadbent was an independent physician who was not employed by the organizations.
Following the initial lawsuit, Dr. Broadbent lost privileges at the hospitals he worked and put his license on hold while police investigated 29 reports of sexual assault against him, the report said.