58-37e-4 - Recovery of damages.
58-37e-4. Recovery of damages.
(1) One or more of the following persons may bring an action for damages caused by anindividual's use of an illegal drug:
(a) a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse, or sibling of the individual drug user;
(b) an individual who was exposed to an illegal drug in utero;
(c) an employer of the individual drug user;
(d) a medical facility, insurer, governmental entity, employer, or other entity that funds adrug treatment program or employee assistance program for the individual drug user or thatotherwise expended money on behalf of the individual drug user; or
(e) a person injured as a result of the willful, reckless, or negligent actions of anindividual drug user.
(2) A person entitled to bring an action under this section may seek damages from one ormore of the following:
(a) a person who knowingly distributed, or knowingly participated in the chain ofdistribution of, an illegal drug that was actually used by the individual drug user;
(b) a person who knowingly participated in the illegal drug market if:
(i) the place of illegal drug activity by the individual drug user is within the illegal drugmarket target community of the defendant;
(ii) the defendant's participation in the illegal drug market was connected with the sametype of illegal drug used by the individual drug user; and
(iii) the defendant participated in the illegal drug market at any time during the individualdrug user's period of illegal drug use.
(3) A person entitled to bring an action under this section may recover all of the followingdamages:
(a) economic damages, including the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, medicalexpenses, loss of economic or educational potential, loss of productivity, absenteeism, supportexpenses, accidents or injury, and any other pecuniary loss proximately caused by the illegal druguse;
(b) noneconomic damages, including physical and emotional pain, suffering, physicalimpairment, emotional distress, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment, loss ofcompanionship, services and consortium, and other nonpecuniary losses proximately caused byan individual's use of an illegal drug;
(c) exemplary damages;
(d) reasonable attorney's fees; and
(e) costs of suit, including reasonable expenses for expert testimony.
Enacted by Chapter 349, 1997 General Session