Flesh-eating case: Board votes to release sum
The State Records Committee on Thursday ordered the University of Utah to say what it paid a women who lost limbs to a flesh-eating bacteria.
In a unanimous vote, the committee said the dollar figure is a public record and must be disclosed. The committee did not address whether other terms of the settlement must be released.
The university can appeal the decision by filing a lawsuit in state court.
Lisa Speckman lost three limbs from a flesh-eating bacteria she contracted while under the care of university-trained medical staff. The Tribune sought terms of the legal settlement between the university and Speckman and her family.
In written denials and at Thursday's hearing, a university attorney argued the settlement, including any money it paid, was a health record protected by federal law. The Speckmans' attorney also wrote the committee, saying disclosing the records would invade the family's privacy.
Speckman's husband, Stephen Speckman, is a former Deseret News reporter who himself used state and federal record laws to pry information from the government.
The Tribune argued money is not a health record. Also, the newspaper wanted the settlement to help report on the larger issue of medical mistakes, the consequences and how to prevent them.
— NC
In a unanimous vote, the committee said the dollar figure is a public record and must be disclosed. The committee did not address whether other terms of the settlement must be released.
The university can appeal the decision by filing a lawsuit in state court.
Lisa Speckman lost three limbs from a flesh-eating bacteria she contracted while under the care of university-trained medical staff. The Tribune sought terms of the legal settlement between the university and Speckman and her family.
In written denials and at Thursday's hearing, a university attorney argued the settlement, including any money it paid, was a health record protected by federal law. The Speckmans' attorney also wrote the committee, saying disclosing the records would invade the family's privacy.
Speckman's husband, Stephen Speckman, is a former Deseret News reporter who himself used state and federal record laws to pry information from the government.
The Tribune argued money is not a health record. Also, the newspaper wanted the settlement to help report on the larger issue of medical mistakes, the consequences and how to prevent them.
— NC
Labels: GRAMA, State Records Committee
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