Those charged with DUI who are administered medical treatment should be aware that laboratory results as well as statements made to police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and hospital personnel may come back to haunt them at their Massachusetts DUI trial.

For example, in the case of Robert S. Pulisciano, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled that an Emergency Medical Technician’s report which contained incriminating statements and observations was admissible at Pulisciano’s DUI jury trial.

Pulisciano was involved in a motor vehicle accident on Route 1 in Saugus, Massachusetts. While he was being transported by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital, EMT Michelle Allen treated him. During the transport, EMT Allen smelled an odor of alcohol emanating from Pulisciano and she asked him if he had been drinking. He stated that he had consumed three or four beers prior to the accident.
After Pulisciano arrived at the hospital, a Mass. State Trooper spoke with him twice, and concluded that he had been operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor. This conclusion was also supported by observations made at the scene of the accident where Pulisciano was unsteady on his feet, his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and his speech was “pretty slurred.”

The medical staff at Massachusetts General Hospital took Pulisciano’s blood and urine as part of their regular medical treatment protocol. The substances were tested and the results showed that Pulisciano had both drugs and alcohol in his system. The results of these tests were declared admissible at the DUI trial on the grounds that Massachusetts law provides that “Records kept by hospitals [as required by statute] … may be admitted … as evidence in the courts of the commonwealth so far as such records relate to the treatment and medical history of such cases….” Consequently, the jury in the drunk driving trial was informed that Pulisciano’s blood and/or urine contained both drugs and alcohol.

This case shows how evidence in a Mass. DUI case can come from unexpected sources. Many individuals who receive medical treatment or undergo testing mistakenly expect that information provided to medical personnel and the results of medical tests will remain confidential and private. However, as explained above, in a Massachusetts DUI trial, this is not the case. Through subpoenas and other means, the prosecution may be able to use otherwise private medical information to prove that the defendant was operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.