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PROVO — The Utah Supreme Court ruled Thursday that 94 Utah County women can sue their OB-GYN, agreeing with their attorney's arguments that sexual assault is not health care and reviving their lawsuit.
The women claim that David Broadbent sexually assaulted them during medical treatment. Many of the women said they were unaware of what to expect at an appointment when they went to his office near BYU. It wasn't until later, the stories in the lawsuit say, that they realized he had crossed a line and there was a reason behind their emotional distress around the appointment.
Many of the women wore blue in solidarity to the courthouse on Oct. 20, 2023, as attorneys argued the case before the high court.
Broadbent worked in Provo for over four decades as an OB-GYN. Some of the allegations in the lawsuit include digital penetration without warning, making sexual comments and feeling women's breasts but not for a medical purpose.
The opinion, written by Justice Paige Petersen, states that many of the women said they felt distraught, terrible and violated after appointments with Broadbent.
Fourth District Judge Robert C. Lunnen dismissed the lawsuit in 2022. He said that describing the incidents alleged in the lawsuit as "appalling" would be an understatement, but ultimately determined he did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
He said the lawsuit was against a medical professional for actions alleged during medical appointments and the proper steps for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, under the Utah Health Care Malpractice Act, were not completed.
Attorney Terence Rooney, the women's attorney, told the Supreme Court judges in October that Lunnen made a mistake when labeling what happened to the women as "health care."
"That abuse is diametrically opposed to health care. … They are not intertwined in any way; they are distinct opposites," he told the justices.
The Utah Supreme Court reversed Lunnen's decision, saying the act applies to injury "arising out of health care rendered ... by the health care provider."
It said the women don't claim they were injured during health care but that Broadbent "abused his position as their doctor to sexually assault them under the pretense of providing health care."
The justices said just because the alleged assaults occurred during medical appointments does not make them health care — the alleged actions were not medical treatment and did not have a medical purpose.
"The point of their claims is that his actions were not really health care at all," the opinion said.
The lawsuit was also filed against Intermountain Health and MountainStar Healthcare, because some of the allegations occurred while Broadbent was working at their facilities. It claims that the women reported what had happened, but the medical companies did not adequately respond.
Broadbent was criminally charged for the first time related to the actions alleged in the civil lawsuit in June. The Utah County Attorney's Office said he remains under investigation for other allegations.
