Utah OB/GYN faces allegations of abuse by nearly 50 patients

PROVO, Utah (KUTV) — A Provo doctor is facing additional allegations after a lawsuit was filed claiming dozens of incidents of sexual battery and sexual assault.

A lawsuit was first filed against OB/GYN Dr. David Broadbent back in February with four plaintiffs. Since then, the number has grown.Sorenson said the suit has been amended to include 50 total victims.

Salt Lake City attorney Adam Sorenson has been representing the plaintiffs. They were identified in the lawsuit as Jane Does followed by their initials.

The lawsuit filed in district court in Utah County alleges, “Dr. David H. Broadbent took advantage of his position, Plaintiffs’ vulnerability, and that relationship of trust as he sexually battered and abused Plaintiffs and numerous other women over the course of four decades.”

“As you can see in the amended complaint, you have forty years of complaints. You have 50 named people. You have a lot of people that have called that aren’t named," Sorenson said. "Unfortunately, for something to be happening that long - that kind of a pattern - I think there are probably a lot more."

2News reached out to the attorney representing Broadbent, David C. Epperson. He issued the following statement:

“Dr. Broadbent categorically denies all of the allegations of wrongdoing that are asserted in this lawsuit. Medical Ethics prevent Dr. Broadbent from saying anything more, but he believes that time will prove that the charges in this lawsuit have no basis.”

In addition to Broadbent, Intermountain Healthcare, doing business as Utah Valley Hospital, and HCA Healthcare, doing business as MountainStar Healthcare, were listed as defendants.

The lawsuit listed a cause of action alleging negligent supervision against MountainStar and Intermountain. 2News reached out to both for their response to the lawsuit.

MountainStar Healthcare said in a statement:

"We sympathize with and fully support any individuals in the recently filed lawsuit who may have experienced this alleged behavior at the physician's private clinic in Provo. Like hundreds of other physicians who practice privately in our community, this physician is not employed by any MountainStar hospital. The physician is not currently authorized to see patients at our facility. Over the years, this physician has seen a small number of patients at one of our facilities each year; however, to our knowledge, there were no allegations of inappropriate conduct reported to our facility regarding this physician. While we empathize with the people involved, we believe we were inappropriately named in this lawsuit and we will defend ourselves accordingly."

Lance Madigan with Intermountain and Utah Valley Hospital also issued a statement:

"Dr. Broadbent is an independent physician and has never been an employee of Utah Valley Hospital. When the hospital learned of this lawsuit, Dr. Broadbent’s privileges to deliver babies or provide any other services at the hospital were immediately suspended. We take these allegations very seriously and are committed to ensure the safety of our patients."