The Utah Supreme Court is currently deliberating on whether to reopen a lawsuit against Dr. David Broadbent, a retired Provo OB-GYN accused of sexually harassing and abusing over 90 women. Dozens of alleged victims appeared before the justices, seeking to reinstate the lawsuit, which aims to obtain damages and a trial by jury. The women claim that Dr. Broadbent exploited his position and subjected them to “sexual battery and abuse.”
Last year, a judge in Utah’s Fourth District Court dismissed the case against Dr. Broadbent, stating that the allegations portrayed his interactions with patients as “insensitive, disrespectful, and degrading.” The judge concluded that the case had been misfiled as sexual abuse instead of medical malpractice, which would require complaints to be filed within two years. However, some of the allegations in the 72-page lawsuit date back several decades.
During the proceedings, the women’s attorneys argued that the Fourth District Court judge erred in dismissing the case, emphasizing that the women were not complaining about healthcare but rather about abuse. Conversely, attorneys representing Dr. Broadbent and Intermountain Healthcare, one of the defendants named in the lawsuit, contended that the women’s claims lacked merit and were solely related to healthcare.
The justices adjourned the court session, stating that they would carefully review the briefings from both sides before issuing a ruling.
