§ 78B-3-401 Title
§ 78B-3-402 Legislative findings and declarations — Purpose of act
§ 78B-3-403 Definitions
§ 78B-3-404 Statute of limitations — Exceptions — Application
§ 78B-3-405 Amount of award reduced by amounts of collateral sources available to plaintiff — No reduction where subrogation right exists — Collateral sources defined — Procedure to preserve subrogation rights — Evidence admissible — Exceptions
§ 78B-3-406 Failure to obtain informed consent — Proof required of patient — Defenses — Consent to health care
§ 78B-3-407 Limitation on actions against health care providers when parent or guardian refuses to consent to health care of child
§ 78B-3-408 Writing required as basis for liability for breach of guarantee, warranty, contract, or assurance of result
§ 78B-3-409 Ad damnum clause prohibited in complaint
§ 78B-3-410 Limitation of award of noneconomic damages in malpractice actions
§ 78B-3-411 Limitation on attorney’s contingency fee in malpractice action
§ 78B-3-412 Notice of intent to commence action
§ 78B-3-413 Professional liability insurance coverage for providers — Insurance commissioner may require joint underwriting authority
§ 78B-3-414 Periodic payment of future damages in malpractice actions
§ 78B-3-415 Actions under Utah Governmental Immunity Act
§ 78B-3-416 Division to provide panel — Exemption — Procedures — Statute of limitations tolled — Composition of panel — Expenses — Division authorized to set license fees
§ 78B-3-416 v2 Division to provide panel — Exemption — Procedures — Statute of limitations tolled — Composition of panel — Expenses — Division authorized to set license fees
§ 78B-3-417 Proceedings — Authority of panel — Rights of parties to proceedings
§ 78B-3-418 Decision and recommendations of panel — No judicial or other review
§ 78B-3-419 Evidence of proceedings not admissible in subsequent action — Panelist may not be compelled to testify — Immunity of panelist from civil liability — Information regarding professional conduct
§ 78B-3-420 Proceedings considered a binding arbitration hearing upon written agreement of parties — Compensation to members of panel
§ 78B-3-421 Arbitration agreements
§ 78B-3-422 Evidence of disclosures — Civil proceedings — Unanticipated outcomes — Medical care
§ 78B-3-423 Affidavit of merit
§ 78B-3-424 Limitation of liability for ostensible agent
§ 78B-3-425 Prohibition on cause of action for negligent credentialing
§ 78B-3-426 Nonpatient plaintiffs
§ 78B-3-426 v2 Nonpatient plaintiffs
§ 78B-3-427 Transgender procedures upon a minor — Right of action — Informed consent requirements — Statute of limitations
§ 78B-3-428 Breach of duty for deviating from established practices
§ 78B-3-450 Definitions
§ 78B-3-454 Confidentiality and effect of medical candor process — Recording of medical candor process — Exception for deidentified information or data
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Terms Used In Utah Code > Title 78B > Chapter 3 > Part 4 - Utah Health Care Malpractice Act

  • Adverse event: means an injury or suspected injury that is associated with a health care process rather than an underlying condition of a patient or a disease. See Utah Code 78B-3-450
  • Affected party: means :
         (2)(a) a patient; and
         (2)(b) any representative of a patient. See Utah Code 78B-3-450
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
  • Audiologist: means a person licensed to practice audiology under Title 58, Chapter 41, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Licensing Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Certified social worker: means a person licensed to practice as a certified social worker under Section 58-60-205. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Chiropractic physician: means a person licensed to practice chiropractic under Title 58, Chapter 73, Chiropractic Physician Practice Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Clinical social worker: means a person licensed to practice as a clinical social worker under Section 58-60-205. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of insurance as provided in Section 31A-2-102. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Communication: means any written or oral communication created for or during a medical candor process. See Utah Code 78B-3-450
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Dental care provider: means any person, partnership, association, corporation, or other facility or institution who causes to be rendered or who renders dental care or professional services as a dentist, dental hygienist, or other person rendering similar care and services relating to or arising out of the practice of dentistry or the practice of dental hygiene, and the officers, employees, or agents of any of the above acting in the course and scope of their employment. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Dental hygienist: means a person licensed to engage in the practice of dental hygiene as defined in Section 58-69-102. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Dentist: means a person licensed to engage in the practice of dentistry as defined in Section 58-69-102. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Depose: means to make a written statement made under oath or affirmation. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Division: means the Division of Professional Licensing created in Section 58-1-103. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Equal: means , with respect to biological sex, of the same value. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Female: means the characteristic of an individual whose biological reproductive system is of the general type that functions in a way that could produce ova. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
    • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
    • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
    • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
  • Future damages: includes a judgment creditor's damages for future medical treatment, care or custody, loss of future earnings, loss of bodily function, or future pain and suffering. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Guardian: includes a person who:
         (14)(a) qualifies as a guardian of a minor or incapacitated person pursuant to testamentary or court appointment; or
         (14)(b) is appointed by a court to manage the estate of a minor or incapacitated person. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Health care: means any act or treatment performed or furnished, or which should have been performed or furnished, by any health care provider for, to, or on behalf of a patient during the patient's medical care, treatment, or confinement. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Health care facility: means general acute hospitals, specialty hospitals, home health agencies, hospices, nursing care facilities, assisted living facilities, birthing centers, ambulatory surgical facilities, small health care facilities, health care facilities owned or operated by health maintenance organizations, and end stage renal disease facilities. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Health care provider: includes any person, partnership, association, corporation, or other facility or institution who causes to be rendered or who renders health care or professional services as a hospital, health care facility, physician, physician assistant, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, nurse-midwife, licensed direct-entry midwife, dentist, dental hygienist, optometrist, clinical laboratory technologist, pharmacist, physical therapist, physical therapist assistant, podiatric physician, psychologist, chiropractic physician, naturopathic physician, osteopathic physician, osteopathic physician and surgeon, audiologist, speech-language pathologist, clinical social worker, certified social worker, social service worker, marriage and family counselor, practitioner of obstetrics, licensed athletic trainer, or others rendering similar care and services relating to or arising out of the health needs of persons or groups of persons and officers, employees, or agents of any of the above acting in the course and scope of their employment. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Hospital: means a public or private institution licensed under Title 26B, Chapter 2, Part 2, Health Care Facility Licensing and Inspection. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
  • Licensed athletic trainer: means a person licensed under Title 58, Chapter 40a, Athletic Trainer Licensing Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Licensed direct-entry midwife: means a person licensed under the Direct-entry Midwife Act to engage in the practice of direct-entry midwifery as defined in Section 58-77-102. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Licensed practical nurse: means a person licensed to practice as a licensed practical nurse as provided in Section 58-31b-301. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Malpractice action against a health care provider: means any action against a health care provider, whether in contract, tort, breach of warranty, wrongful death, or otherwise, based upon alleged personal injuries relating to or arising out of health care rendered or which should have been rendered by the health care provider. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Medical candor process: means the process described in Section 78B-3-451. See Utah Code 78B-3-450
  • Minor: means any person under 18 years old. See Utah Code 78B-3-1001
  • Naturopathic physician: means a person licensed to engage in the practice of naturopathic medicine as defined in Section 58-71-102. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Nurse-midwife: means a person licensed to engage in practice as a nurse midwife under Section 58-44a-301. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Optometrist: means a person licensed to practice optometry under Title 58, Chapter 16a, Utah Optometry Practice Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Osteopathic physician: means a person licensed to practice osteopathy under Title 58, Chapter 68, Utah Osteopathic Medical Practice Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Patient: means a person who is under the care of a health care provider, under a contract, express or implied. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Periodic payments: means the payment of money or delivery of other property to a judgment creditor at intervals ordered by the court. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Person: means :
         (24)(a) an individual;
         (24)(b) an association;
         (24)(c) an institution;
         (24)(d) a corporation;
         (24)(e) a company;
         (24)(f) a trust;
         (24)(g) a limited liability company;
         (24)(h) a partnership;
         (24)(i) a political subdivision;
         (24)(j) a government office, department, division, bureau, or other body of government; and
         (24)(k) any other organization or entity. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Pharmacist: means a person licensed to practice pharmacy as provided in Section 58-17b-301. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Physical therapist: means a person licensed to practice physical therapy under Title 58, Chapter 24b, Physical Therapy Practice Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Physical therapist assistant: means a person licensed to practice physical therapy, within the scope of a physical therapist assistant license, under Title 58, Chapter 24b, Physical Therapy Practice Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Physician: means a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery under Title 58, Chapter 67, Utah Medical Practice Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Physician assistant: means a person licensed to practice as a physician assistant under Title 58, Chapter 70a, Utah Physician Assistant Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Podiatric physician: means a person licensed to practice podiatry under Title 58, Chapter 5a, Podiatric Physician Licensing Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Practitioner of obstetrics: means a person licensed to practice as a physician in this state under Title 58, Chapter 67, Utah Medical Practice Act, or under Title 58, Chapter 68, Utah Osteopathic Medical Practice Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Psychologist: means a person licensed under Title 58, Chapter 61, Psychologist Licensing Act, to engage in the practice of psychology as defined in Section 58-61-102. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Registered nurse: means a person licensed to practice professional nursing as provided in Section 58-31b-301. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Representative: means the spouse, parent, guardian, trustee, attorney-in-fact, person designated to make decisions on behalf of a patient under a medical power of attorney, or other legal agent of the patient. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Sex: means , in relation to an individual, the individual's biological sex, either male or female, at birth, according to distinct reproductive roles as manifested by:
         (34)(a) sex and reproductive organ anatomy;
         (34)(b) chromosomal makeup; and
         (34)(c) endogenous hormone profiles. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Social service worker: means a person licensed to practice as a social service worker under Section 58-60-205. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • Speech-language pathologist: means a person licensed to practice speech-language pathology under Title 58, Chapter 41, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Licensing Act. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • State: means the same as that term is defined in Section 63G-7-102. See Utah Code 78B-3-450
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Unanticipated outcome: means the outcome of a medical treatment or procedure that differs from an expected result. See Utah Code 78B-3-403
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Writing: includes :
         (48)(a) printing;
         (48)(b) handwriting; and
         (48)(c) information stored in an electronic or other medium if the information is retrievable in a perceivable format. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5