Ah Wilderness!

The Utah Supreme Court answered a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit by concluding that the state Health Care Malpractice Act applied in these circumstances

We conclude that an injury sustained while climbing a rock formation during a “wilderness therapy” excursion can, depending on the circumstances, “relat[e] to or aris[e] out of health care rendered . . . by [a] health care provider.” See UTAH CODE § 78B-3- 403(17). And we conclude that the injury at the heart of the claims here related to or arose out of treatment a health care provider rendered. As such, the Act applies to the claims the plaintiff asserts.

The accident involved a 17 year old enrolled in such a therapy program

Two weeks into Wingate’s program, Jacob and six other youths went hiking, accompanied by two Wingate staff members. Id. During the hike, the lead staff member temporarily left the group. Id. The remaining staff member let the youth, at their request, climb a “seventy-foot-tall, snow-dusted rock formation.” Id. at 591. The staff member provided no climbing gear, training, or physical assistance. Id. at 591–92. Jacob and three others reached the top, “but Jacob and at least one other boy found it much more difficult to climb back down.” Id. at 592. While Jacob was struggling to descend the rock formation, the lead staff member rejoined the group. Id. “Neither staff member offered Jacob any physical assistance, but one of them advised Jacob to follow a certain route down. As Jacob tried to do so, he slipped on the snow and fell approximately twenty-five feet to the ground, landing on his left knee.” Id. Jacob’s knee shattered. Id.at 591.

Answer

An injury sustained while climbing a rock formation during a “wilderness therapy” excursion operated by the defendant “relat[es] to or aris[es] out of health care rendered . . . by a health care provider” within the meaning of the Act, where the defendant is or employs a health care provider who prescribed hiking, wilderness experiences, and learning outdoor survival skills as part of the plaintiff’s therapeutic treatment plan, that plan was carried out by the defendant’s staff, and the plaintiff’s injuries occurred during the plan’s execution. Such is the case here and the Act applies to Jacob’s claims.

(Mike Frisch)