DOUGLAS J. LOVE, PETITIONER,
v.
LUZ MARIA GARCIA, RESPONDENT

Fla. | 1994-02-10
No. 81478
BARKETT, C.J., and OVERTON, McDonald, shaw, grimes, kogan and HARDING, JJ., concur.
634 So. 2d 158 Florida Supreme Court (1994) Positive Treatment
Cited by 54 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Florida Supreme Court held that medical records, including blood alcohol test results, are admissible under the business record hearsay exception if a proper predicate is established, with trustworthiness presumed based on the test's general acceptance in the medical field. The Court reversed the Fourth District's decision excluding blood alcohol evidence in a personal injury case and remanded for the trial court to allow the defendant an opportunity to lay a proper predicate for admission.


Holding

Medical records, including blood alcohol tests, are admissible under the business record hearsay exception if a proper predicate is established. Trustworthiness of medical records is presumed based on the test's general acceptance in the medical field and reliance within the scientific discipline, not on whether health care providers actually relied on the test in the course of treatment. The trial court committed reversible error by denying Love the opportunity to establish a proper predicate through custodian testimony.


Headnotes

[1] Medical records are admissible under the business record hearsay exception if a proper predicate is laid, demonstrating they were made at or near the time of the event by…

[2] Once the predicate for admitting medical records as business records is established, the burden shifts to the party opposing their introduction to prove untrustworthiness…

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Under the business record exception, the trustworthiness of medical records is presumed [...] Such trustworthiness is based on the test's general acceptance in the medical field and the fact that the test in question is relied upon in the scientific discipline involved.”

Establishes the legal standard for admissibility of medical records under the business record hearsay exception and rebuts the District Court's requirement of actual reliance in treatment.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

On April 3, 1986, Garcia was struck by Love's automobile while attempting to cross an intersection. Approximately five minutes before the accident, Ga…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

We have for review, on express and direct conflict, Love v. Garcia, 611 So. 2d 1270 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. On the night of April 3,1986, Garcia, while attempting to cross an intersection, was struck and injured by an automobile driven by Love.

Approximately five minutes before the accident, City of Sunrise police officer William Collins observed a distressed Garcia standing alone on Sunset Strip. Garcia pulled the officer over and requested to be taken to a local gas station. Upon arrival at the station, she said it was the wrong one and asked to be taken to another station. Collins left when he was unable to offer additional transportation, and soon thereafter the accident occurred.

Love testified that the darkness of the intersection prevented him from seeing Garcia sooner and when he did see her he immediately applied his brakes; but he was unable to avoid hitting her. Christopher Caviness, an independent eyewitness, saw the accident and also witnessed Garcia’s movements before she was struck. Caviness’ deposition testimony stated that Garcia appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. The trial judge did not allow the jury to hear Caviness’ opinion testimony, but he was allowed to testify that Garcia appeared to stumble as she walked across the street, looked upset, and was dressed in dark clothing.

At trial, Love attempted to introduce the results of Garcia’s two blood alcohol tests1 as business records. The introduction was based on a predicate which consisted of testimony by the record custodians of SmithKline and the hospital. Garcia challenged the accuracy, reliability and trustworthiness of the tests, and filed a motion in limine to exclude the results. The motion was based on: 1) Love’s failure to list witnesses who could lay a proper predicate, i.e., independent testimony explaining how the tests were performed; 2) an absence of information detailing what type of test was performed; 3) a lack of information regarding who drew the samples; and 4) a dearth of evidence indicating the samples as Garcia’s. The trial court agreed with Garcia, rejected Love’s introduction, and granted the motion in limine.

The jury awarded Garcia $2 million, which was reduced to $1 million based on a 50% comparative negligence factor. The Fourth District Court of Appeal panel reversed the trial court and held the blood tests admissible; but the court, sitting en banc, withdrew the panel decision and affirmed the trial court’s exclusion of the blood tests. Love petitioned this Court for review. We quash the en banc decision and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Confusion surrounds the issue of medical and hospital records, and their admissibility under the business record hearsay exception.2 Several district courts have held that medical records are an exception to the hearsay rule and fall within section 90.803(6)(a), Florida Statutes (1991).3 See Phillips v. Ficarra, 618 So. 2d 312 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); Grant v. Brown, 429 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 5th DCA), review denied, 438 So. 2d 832 (Fla.1983); Jaime v. Vilberg, 363 So. 2d 386 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978), cert. denied, 373 So. 2d 462 (Fla.1979). This Court has not previously-had the opportunity to rule on this issue, and we do so now for the first time.

As with other forms of business records, medical records can be entered if

made at or near the time by, or from information transmitted by, a person with knowledge, if kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity and if it was the regular practice of that business activity to make such memorandum, report, record, or data compilation, all as shown by the testimony of the custodian or other qualified witness, unless the sources of information or other circumstances show lack of trustworthiness.

§ 90.803(6)(a), Fla.Stat. (1991). Once this predicate is laid, the burden is on the party opposing the introduction to prove the un-trustworthiness of the records. If the opposing party is unable to carry this burden, then the record will be allowed into evidence as a business record. However, even if a proper predicate has been laid or the opposing party cannot prove the untrustworthiness of the evidence, the records must still withstand the test of relevancy. Accordingly, a trial judge may exclude the records if they are unfairly prejudicial or confusing. § 90.403, Fla.Stat. (1991).

Under the business record exception, the trustworthiness of medical records is presumed. Phillips v. Ficarra, 618 So. 2d 312, 313 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993). Such trustworthiness is based on the test’s general acceptance in the medical field and the fact that the test in question is relied upon in the scientific discipline involved. Andres v. Gilberti, 592 So. 2d 1250, 1252 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992). Actual reliance on the test in each course of treatment is not required. Accordingly, the district court’s statement that “[i]n a medical records case, the trustworthiness element— the only basis for business records admissibility—relates to whether the health care providers relied on the test result in the course of treatment,” 611 So. 2d at 1275 (emphasis added), is a flawed interpretation of the business record hearsay exception.

Our review of the record indicates that given an opportunity, it is possible that Love could have laid a proper predicate through the testimonies of the SmithKline and hospital records’ custodians. To deny him this opportunity was reversible error. Accordingly, we quash the decision below, and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

It is so ordered.

BARKETT, C.J., and OVERTON, McDonald, shaw, grimes, kogan and HARDING, JJ., concur. . Test one, showing a blood alcohol of .23, was taken immediately upon arrival at the hospital and was analyzed by SmithKline. Test two, taken several hours later and analyzed by the hospital, showed a blood alcohol level of .14.

. The medical record exception includes routine blood tests which disclose alcohol content if the tests are a component of the hospital or medical records. Andres v. Gilberti, 592 So. 2d 1250 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992).

. The statute reads:

(6) RECORDS OF REGULARLY CONDUCTED BUSINESS ACTIVITY.—

(a) A memorandum, report, record, or data compilation, in any form, of acts, events, conditions, opinion, or diagnosis, made at or near the time by, or from information transmitted by, a person with knowledge, if kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity and if it was the regular practice of that business activity to make such memorandum, report, record, or data compilation, all as shown by the testimony of the custodian or other qualified witness, unless the sources of information or other circumstances show lack of trustworthiness. The term “business” ... includes a business, institution, association, profession, occupation, and calling of eveiy kind, whether or not conducted for profit.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (27 total)

  • Hitchcock v. State, 755 So. 2d 638 (Fla. 2000)
    …and as being a part of his records. There was no objection to the report on the basis of a lack of trustworthiness. The report was thus admissible as a relevant business record pursuant to section 90.803(6)(b), Florida Statutes. See Love v. Garcia, 634 So. 2d 158 (Fla.1994); Baber v. State, 738 So. 2d 379, 382 (Fla. 4th DCA), review granted, No. 96,010, 749 So. 2d 502 (Fla. Dec. 21, 1999). The report was relevant in that Hitchcock’s mental state was the mitigation issue about which Toomer was called to testi…
  • Filan v. State, 768 So. 2d 1100 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
    …ida Statutes (1995), to establish that the records fell within the business records exception to the hearsay rule. We held that the trial court properly admitted the blood alcohol report as a business record. See id. at 382; see also Love v. Garcia, 634 So. 2d 158 (Fla.1994) (reversing where trial court denies defendant the opportunity to lay predicate for admission of blood alcohol test as business record); Brock v. State, 676 So. 2d 991 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). When the state moved to admit the records in this…
  • Meade v. State, 799 So. 2d 430 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)
    …business record exception. See Legree v. State, 739 So. 2d 616, 617 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999) (while hearsay is admissible at a revocation hearing, it cannot be the sole basis for a finding of violation); see also § 90.803(6), Fla. Stat.; Love v. Garcia, 634 So. 2d 158, 160 (Fla.1994) (for a document to be admitted under the business record hearsay exception, a predicate must first be laid by the records custodian or other qualified witness that the record was made in the course of a regularly conducted business a…

Previewing 3 of 27 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw