Jeffs v. Rodier, 2015 UT 1, —P.3d— (Jan. 9, 2015) 

The children of a man who shot and killed his wife, their mother, while under the influence of medications prescribed to him filed suit against the nurse practitioner who had prescribed the medication as well as the consulting physician. In B.R. ex rel. Jeffs v. West, 2012 UT 11, 275 P.3d 228, the Utah Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of the childrens’ tort claims against the nurse practitioner, holding she had a duty of reasonableness that extended to third parties who might be injured as a foreseeable result of her negligence. In this case, the Court affirmed the dismissal of the childrens’ claims against the consulting physician, holding that the provision of the Nurse Practice Act allowing a nurse practitioner to prescribe schedule II-III controlled substances “in accordance with a consultation and referral plan,” Utah Code § 58-31b-102(13)(c)(iii), does not impose a duty on a physician to consult with the nurse practitioner on each individual prescription of a controlled substance.