SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Supreme Court has struck down part of a law that allowed a state panel to block malpractice lawsuits from reaching the courtroom.
The court ruled last week that it is unconstitutional for the panel under the state Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing to make final decisions in lawsuits without the opportunity of judicial review.
The family of Gustavo Vega sought to bring a malpractice suit against a Salt Lake City-area hospital after he died in 2014. He entered a coma after undergoing surgery to remove his gall bladder.
The state panel denied the family’s claim.
The state law allowed for health care providers to make a case for the claim, but the panel can still reject it, which it did in the Vega case.
