B.R. v. West
Utah Supreme Court
275 P.3d 228 (2012)
Relevant factsFree
Nurse West (defendant) prescribed at least six medications to Ragsdale, who, with all those drugs in his system, killed his wife and pled guilty to murder. The couple's children (plaintiffs) sued West for negligence, but the district court dismissed the suit, finding West owed no duty to the children since they were not her patients; the children appealed.
IssueFree
Whether healthcare providers owe non-patient third parties a duty to exercise reasonable care in the affirmative act of prescribing medications that pose a risk of harm to those third parties.