Recent Utah News
Malpractice Risks for Docs Who Oversee NPs or PAs
Court cases show that physicians continually underestimate their liability in supervising nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs). Even in states that have abolished requirements that NPs be physician-supervised, physicians may still be liable...
August 2019 Newsletter
Liability reforms must be more than skin deep An analysis by University of Virginia (UVA) researchers on the prevalence of unnecessary medical tests highlighted the effect on health care costs and patient anxiety, leading a retired neurologist to reflect on how...
Utah Supreme Court strikes down law requiring agency pre-approval of medical malpractice claims
SOURCE: The Jurist Utah’s Supreme Court has unanimously struck down a state law requiring medical malpractice plaintiffs to obtain a “certificate of compliance” from a state agency. The court ruled that the law, known as the Malpractice Act, was unconstitutional as it...
Current Medical Liability Laws
| Damage Caps | Since 2010 Utah has had a $450,000 for noneconomic damages. Utah Code § 78B- 3-410. The Utah Supreme Court has ruled that noneconomic damage caps in wrongful death cases are unconstitutional. Smith v. United States, 356 P.3d 1249 (Utah 2015). |
| Joint Liability Reform | Yes. Defendants are responsible only for their proportionate share of negligence. Utah Code § 78B-5-818. Except potentially in products cases between the manufacturer, distributors, and sellers of allegedly defective products. See Bylsma v. R.C. Willey, 2017 UT 85, 416 P.3d 595 (2017). |
| Collateral Source Reform | (A)(1) Economic damages are based on amounts that the plaintiff or a third party insurer, whether public or private, actually paid for medical expenses related to the injury at issue; and (2) if a plaintiff did not have insurance to pay medical expenses the court may award economic damages for amounts the plaintiff actually paid or owes for medical care resulting from the loss. (B) The court may not calculate an award of economic damages based solely on amounts indicated on a medical bill or invoice. |
| Attorney Fees Limited | Yes. Total compensation may not exceed 1/3 of total damages. |
| Periodic Payments Permitted | Yes. Any party may request periodic payments, and the court must order such payments if future damages exceed $100,000. |