Waddoups v. Noorda (Summary)

NEGLIGENT CREDENTIALING

Waddoups v. Noorda, No. 20120310 (Utah Nov. 1, 2013)

The Supreme Court of Utah held that a section of the state code was not applicable retroactively, which would have barred a patient’s claim.  The patient brought suit after she suffered an injury during a procedure.  The patient and her husband sued the hospital for negligently credentialing the physician who performed the procedure.  The hospital argued that the patient’s claim was barred by a law that prohibits lawsuits based upon negligent credentialing.  That law went into effect after the patient’s lawsuit was filed.

The supreme court held that the statute did not provide a clear indication of whether it was meant to be applied retroactively. State law only allows statutes to be applied retroactively if the statute explicitly states that it is to be applied in such a way. In order to make this determination, courts look exclusively at the statute’s plain language.  The court stated that this particular statute used only the present tense, and did not provide a clear indication that it was meant to apply to previous events. The patient’s lawsuit was allowed to stand because her case began before the statute went into effect.