Attorney, plaintiff react to dismissal of sex abuse lawsuit against Provo OB/GYN

PROVO, Utah (KUTV) — An attorney and plaintiff involved in a sex abuse lawsuit against a Provo OB/GYN are reacting to the lawsuit’s dismissal.

“Overall, it’s really disappointed,” said attorney Adam Sorenson, describing the general feeling among the more than 100 women who are part of the lawsuit.

A Utah County judge dismissed the civil suit this week, granting a motion filed by attorneys for Dr. David Broadbent, the man accused in the suit. Broadbents attorneys claimed that the women’s allegations stem from a medical malpractice action, which means they are required to file a notice of intent with the Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL).

“It didn’t end the case,” said Sorenson. “It didn’t talk about the substance of the claims. All it did was say procedurally, you need to refile this, go through the steps and refile this under the malpractice act.”

Sorenson tells 2News they will appeal the judge’s ruling.

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“When you hear the final ruling and you see it in emails, it’s still disappointing,” said one plaintiff, known as Jane Doe in the lawsuit. “I didn’t understand or guess the emotion that would go along with just being part of this case.”

Doe tells 2News that she realizes the legal system is a marathon and not a spring and that she’s ready to see this through to the end.

“We’re doing everything that we can to try to protect other women from being hurt in the same manner.”

2News reached out to Dr. Broadbent’s attorney as well as Intermountain Healthcare and MountainStar Healthcare, which are named in the suit. Neither Intermountain Healthcare nor Dr. Broadbent’s attorney answered a request for comment Wednesday night.

A spokesperson for MountainStar Healthcare released the following statement:

"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. Like hundreds of other physicians who practice privately in our community, this physician is not employed by any MountainStar hospital, and he is not currently authorized to see patients at our facility."