The lawsuit, brought against Dr. David Broadbent, had been dismissed by 4th District Court Judge Robert Lunnen in October 2022 because he argued the lawsuit should be brought under Utah’s malpractice law, as the alleged abuse happened in a medical setting.

The higher court reversed that decision Thursday, saying the women’s claims do not fall under the scope of medical malpractice as they are not alleging injury caused by health care.

“The point of their (the plaintiff’s) claims is that his actions were not really health care at all,” wrote Justice Paige Petersen in the unanimous ruling. “And the fact that Broadbent committed the alleged sexual assaults during medical appointments or examinations does not bring that conduct within the Malpractice Act’s definition of health care because the Plaintiffs allege Broadbent’s abusive conduct had no medical purpose and was outside the scope of any legitimate health care he provided them.”

During oral arguments in October 2023, defense attorneys argued that medical malpractice covers actions “relating to or arising out of health care,” which, they argued, should include the women’s allegations.

In the 2023 legislative session, Utah lawmakers passed a bill clarifying that the state’s medical malpractice law excludes allegations of sexual assault, but the bill’s passage came after the lawsuit was first dismissed.

The Supreme Court’s decision will allow the lawsuit to move forward. Intermountain Health and Mountainstar Healthcare also are defendants in the lawsuit, as Broadbent often saw patients in Utah Valley Hospital and Timpanogos Regional Hospital.

In June, Broadbent was charged by the Utah County Attorney’s Office with one count of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, for alleged sexual misconduct against a patient in 2020. In a press release at that time, the attorney’s office said it is investigating other complaints against Broadbent.