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Admissibility Of Blood Sample Evidence In Civil Case, Anon

Washington Law Review

At the instigation of a police officer, a blood sample was taken from defendant Clinton as he lay hospitalized with serious injuries resulting from an automobile collision in which another person was killed. The alcohol reading of the blood sample was 0.210, well above presumptive intoxication. Plaintiff, in an action for personal injuries and wrongful death, sought to introduce defendant's blood test in evidence. The trial court, in the absence of the jury, heard conflicting testimony and concluded that the blood sample was inadmissible because taken without conscious consent. On appeal from a judgment for defendant, the court reversed and …