PROVO, Utah — One day after the Utah Supreme Court revived the sexual assault lawsuit against a Provo OB-GYN and two healthcare systems, one of the alleged victims is elated to share that their fight is not over.
Back in 2008, Brooke Heath was rushed to Utah Valley Hospital in premature labor. That's where she said she met Dr. David Broadbent.
"I didn't ask to go to him, that was the doctor on duty and he was assigned to me," Heath said.
She's one of the 94 women who filed a lawsuit against Dr. Broadbent, Intermountain Healthcare and MountainStar Health Care. The women accused Dr. Broadbent of sexually assaulting them during medical exams over decades.
Some of the plaintiffs claimed the abuse happened before and after giving birth. Others, as young as nineteen, claimed "it was her first appointment with a doctor other than her pediatrician" and "did not know what to expect or what was normal."
"It's pretty powerful to hear story after story after story that's told to you independently that has a pattern to it," said Terry Rooney, one of the attorneys representing the women.
A lower court judge previously dismissed the women's lawsuit, ruling that it should have been filed as a medical malpractice case instead of a civil sexual assault lawsuit. That would have limited the window of time they could sue and limit any financial damages they could receive.
In a ruling handed down on Thursday, the state's top court reversed a lower court's decision to throw out their lawsuit.
"We're actually going to have more than 94 [women] when it gets refiled. The number is uncertain yet but it could be approaching 200 women when it gets refiled," said Rooney.
In the Utah Supreme Court's ruling, Justice Petersen said "we conclude that the Malpractice Act does not apply to the Plaintiffs’ claims because they have not brought an action 'based upon alleged personal injuries relating to or arising out of health care rendered' by Broadbent."
"It's important to note that there are three defendants in this case," said Heath. "Our goal is to hold them all accountable for their actions and lack thereof."
MountainStar Healthcare wrote, "We continue to offer our sympathy and support to any individuals who may have experienced this alleged behavior at the physician’s private clinic in Provo."
"To our knowledge, there were no allegations of inappropriate conduct reported to our facility regarding this physician, and as such our position since this lawsuit was filed has been that we were inappropriately named in the suit. This physician is not and was not employed by Timpanogos Regional Hospital and is not currently authorized to see patients at our facility," the statement said.
Utah Valley Hospital also sent a statement, saying, "Dr. Broadbent is an independent physician and has never been an employee of Utah Valley Hospital."
The statement also said that when "the hospital learned of this lawsuit, Dr. Broadbent’s hospital staff privileges were immediately suspended and then terminated."
Dr. Broadbent, through his previous attorney, has denied wrongdoing. State officials said he has, however, agreed to stop practicing medicine while the case plays out in the court system.
