The husband of a Utah lawmaker sponsoring controversial medical malpractice reform legislation was sued for medical malpractice in 2023.
Sponsor Rep. Katy Hall, R-South Ogden, has not mentioned during legislative deliberations that her husband, physician Michael Hall, has been the subject of a malpractice lawsuit. She has said the need for reform was brought to her by concerned medical professionals.
Asked about the case and its absence in her public discussions, Hall did not comment on either issue. After passing the Senate on Wednesday by a divided vote of 17-11, HB503 now awaits the governor’s signature or veto.
“The goal of HB503 has always been to lower health care costs and increase access to care by reducing frivolous lawsuits against healthcare providers,” Hall said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune.
“Through ongoing discussions, we have arrived at a balanced policy solution that protects healthcare providers from frivolous lawsuits while ensuring patients have access to fair compensation in cases of genuine malpractice,” her statement continued. “I am pleased the bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support.”
Michael Hall, an orthopedist, was sued in May 2023 by a patient who alleged he and a physician assistant at the Ogden Clinic failed to refer her for surgery. In December 2023, the patient dismissed her claims against Michael Hall.
HB503 has been one of the hot-button issues in the final weeks of the session, drawing significant public pushback and splitting party votes on the floor in both chambers. The original version contained a proposed $1 million cap on medical malpractice payouts, which patients, families and attorneys said could be devastating for victims.
The cap was removed in a later version. The bill passed the House last week on a 41-25 vote, with zero yes votes from Democrats and 14 Republican votes against it. It won two yes votes from Democrats in the Senate, where seven Republicans voted against it.
‘Dismissed from this case’
Michael Hall saw the patient who filed the lawsuit after she was referred to him during an emergency room visit at Ogden Regional Medical Center in June 2021. He put her arm in a cast and, from that point forward, her care was overseen by a PA, who also did not recommend surgery, the lawsuit said.
Several months later, according to the complaint, the patient saw a different PA at the same clinic, who noted that her range of motion was limited and that she was experiencing pain and numbness. The patient then had surgery and later sued Hall, the first PA who handled her follow-up care, and the Ogden Clinic.
The delay in the surgery referral, the complaint alleged, resulted in “an extended length of recovery, pain, and limited use of her wrist.” The patient and the providers discussed a possible settlement soon after the suit was filed, according to an October 2023 filing.
The patient dismissed her claims against Hall in December 2023. The next month, she, the clinic and the PA told the court they had resolved their differences, and a judge granted their request to dismiss the case permanently.
Ogden Clinic CEO Ken Whipple said in a statement to The Tribune that the clinic does not comment on specific medical malpractice cases, but added, “[W]e can tell you that Dr. Hall was dismissed from this case ... and no settlement was paid by Dr. Hall or his malpractice insurance on his behalf.”
If signed by the governor, HB503 would not affect any previously settled or otherwise resolved medical malpractice suits, or those filed before it becomes law.
Hall has noted in her conflict of interest disclosures that she works as a registered nurse, and that her husband is a doctor employed by the Ogden Clinic. Her disclosures also note that her husband owns shares in two Utah surgical centers, IHC Layton surgical center and North Ogden Surgical Center, and sits on the board at Ogden Regional Medical Center.
Asked about these disclosures, Hall said in a statement last week, “I want to be clear — this legislation will have no impact on me or my husband. As a health care provider, my priority has always been, and will continue to be, delivering the highest quality care to my patients. Nothing in this bill will change that commitment.”
In her Wednesday statement, Hall noted all four of her bills that have passed the Legislature this year have been related to health care. Physicians from Davis County “reached out to me about the issues we’ve addressed in HB503,” she said, and she “volunteered to see how I could help.”
The idea for another passed bill, HB152, was sparked “when doctors and nurses reached out asking for help with freestanding emergency rooms along the Wasatch Front,” she said. That bill sets equipment and staffing standards for such centers, which have raised questions nationally about cost, which patients they siphon from other providers, and other issues.
“It’s the line of work I am in as a nurse,” Hall said, “and it’s my passion to try to decrease costs and make safer spaces for healthcare workers to practice and give the best care to patients.”
HB503 has also been backed by Republican Senate President Stuart Adams, who has investments in the medical industry and has financial ties to multiple medical centers and Davis Hospital. Adams told The Tribune in a statement last week that the issue of medical malpractice and tort reform was important to him and confirmed that he became involved with the legislation in recent weeks.
More trials?
John Macfarlane, an attorney for the patient who sued Michael Hall, said the case was resolved and that he could not talk about the specifics of the suit for confidentiality reasons.
Macfarlane did note that the medical malpractice cases he handles usually take three to five years, and that the case the patient filed moved more quickly than most. The suit was resolved before depositions were taken, which he said was rare.
“Medical malpractice cases almost never settle early,” Macfarlane wrote in an email to The Tribune. One “typical” reason for an early resolution, he said, is that a plaintiff has “a very clear case of malpractice” and attorneys are able to negotiate a “reasonable” settlement.
According to a 2023 Medscape survey, orthopedic surgeons are the third most likely medical specialists to be sued, behind general surgeons and OB-GYNs. Of the orthopedic surgeons who responded to the survey, 82% said they had been either a sole or co-defendant in a medical malpractice suit.
The changes to HB503 placated some of the bill’s opponents, including a lobbying organization for Utah trial lawyers called the Utah Association of Justice. It decided to take a neutral stance on the legislation after the amendments.
But the bill, some malpractice attorneys said, still offers doctors significant protection, as the version approved by the Legislature gives doctors personal immunity in malpractice suits as long as they have insurance with a policy limit of at least $1 million.
Macfarlane said he thinks the result of HB503, should it be signed into law, will be that more cases will go to trial rather than settling, as the provision giving doctors immunity if they carry sufficient insurance takes away the risk for a doctor of going to trial.
“[Doctors] have to consent to settle, and a lot of times they don’t want to. They don’t want a little mark on their record, so they say no,” he said in an interview. But with the risk that a verdict can go against them, “that kind of worry drives them to give consent,” Macfarlane said. “That is eliminated now. Doctors have no risk if they don’t consent, and so a lot more cases are going to go to trial.”
Winning a medical malpractice trial is already difficult for patients, according to Macfarlane. “Utah juries love doctors, [and it’s] very hard to prove that they made a mistake. It’s a really big uphill battle,” he said.
Note to readers • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.
