University of Utah v. Tullis

In July 2018, a four-year-old child suffered a massive air embolism during surgery at the University of Utah, resulting in severe brain damage. The child and his parents filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the University and other healthcare providers, alleging negligence and seeking damages exceeding $22 million. The University sought to limit its liability under the 2017 Governmental Immunity Act of Utah, but the child and parents argued this law was unconstitutional under the court’s decision in Condemarin v. University Hospital that held that recovery limits statutes were unconstitutional as applied to the University Hospital. The court disagreed with the child and parents, holding that that the prior case’s holding was narrow and did not automatically apply to the 2017 Act because no majority rationale was established. The revised statute must be analyzed independently, it said.