719-471-1984
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Colorado’s Premier Law Firm
    • In the News
    • Video Library
    • Wounded Warrior Project
  • Practice Areas
    • Personal Injury
      • Personal Injury FAQs
    • Accident Law
      • Car Accident Injuries
        • Car Crash FAQs
      • Uninsured Motorist Claims
      • Truck Accident Injuries
        • Truck Accident FAQs
      • Bicycle Accidents
      • Pedestrian Accidents
      • Ski and Snowboard Accidents
      • Wrongful Death
      • Spinal & Brain Injuries
    • Employment / Business Litigation
      • Employment Law
      • Business Disputes
      • Non-Compete Covenants
      • Professional Licensing
    • Unreasonable Delay or Denial of Claims
  • Attorneys
    • Lance Michael Sears
    • Hollie Lynn Wieland
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • CONTACT US
  • CALL US TODAY

Home » Blog » Utah Supreme Court Say Physicians Have Duty to Patients’ Family

Utah Supreme Court Say Physicians Have Duty to Patients’ Family

March 27, 2012 by Lance M. Sears

The Utah Supreme Court ruled last month that health care providers have a duty to consider how the treatment of a patient may affect the family of the patient. The Supreme Court’s decision reversed a third district judge’s ruling that medical malpractice suits could not be sought by third parties, and opens the door to the number of malpractice lawsuits brought against physicians.

The high court’s ruling is in response to a suit brought on behalf of the children of David and Kristy Ragsdale. David Ragsdale shot his wife Kristy to death in a church parking lot in 2008 while heavily medicated. The two Ragsdale children were 4 years and 19 months old at the time. After Kristy’s death, David Ragsdale was convicted of murder.

The suit filed on behalf of the Ragsdale children alleges that a nurse practitioner and her consulting physician were negligent when prescribing six medications to David, including anti-depressants and steroids. The suit claims these medications contributed to David’s actions when he shot his wife.

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, while Ragsdale has pleaded to first-degree murder and taken responsibility for her death, he has also said that he would not have murdered her had it not been for the medications he was on.

Justice Thomas Lee wrote for the Utah Supreme Court, “Health care providers perform a societal function of undoubted social utility. But they are not entitled to an elevated status in tort law that would categorically immunize them from liability when their negligent prescriptions cause physical injury to non-patients. We uphold a duty of healthcare providers to non-patients in the affirmative act of prescribing medication.”

Filed Under: Blog Post, Legal, Malpractice, Medicine

Schedule A Free Consultation

  • Free consultation does not apply to employment matters.

  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

From the blog

  • Roundabouts Are Here to Stay in Colorado: Here's Why
  • Colorado Passes 2021 Medical Lien Legislation to Protect Injured Plaintiffs
  • Back On The Table: Direct Negligence Claims Against Employers For The Negligence Of Their Employees
  • Can an Employer Require its Employees to get the COVID-19 Vaccine?
more posts

Copyright ©  | Sears & Associates, PC.
All Rights Reserved.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Sears & Associates on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Home
  • About Us
    ►
    • Colorado’s Premier Law Firm
    • In the News
    • Video Library
    • Wounded Warrior Project
  • Practice Areas
    ►
    • Personal Injury
    • Accident Law
    • Employment / Business Litigation
    • Unreasonable Delay or Denial of Claims
  • Attorneys
    ►
    • Lance Michael Sears
    • Hollie Lynn Wieland
  • Blog
  • Contact