Utah's high court tosses hurdle to suing for malpractice

SALT LAKE CITY — If her father were still alive, Jessie Schipper knows exactly how he would spend his time.

At every opportunity, Gustavo Vega would cheer on the grandsons he did not get to meet: Ammon, age 2, who has undergone open heart surgery for a birth defect, and Noah, who shares Vega's love of food at just 1 year old. He would cook carne asada or seafood soup for Sunday dinner and spend most days at his West Valley City autoshop.

Four years ago, however, Vega was rushed to Jordan Valley Medical Center, where Schipper had just begun orientation as a nurse's aide. She arrived in the emergency room to find her father doubled over in stomach pain.

Vega emerged in a coma after a surgery to remove his gall bladder and later died, yet medical records do not indicate exactly what went wrong. As a result, Utah's public licensing agency rejected his family's effort to sue until last week, when the Utah Supreme Court ruled in their favor and directed a lower court to revisit the case.

Read more: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900080795/utah-malpractice-lawsuits-high-court.html