§ 5-16a

Admissibility of chemical tests of blood, other bodily substance, or urine conducted in the regular course of providing emergency medical treatment. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the written results of blood, other bodily substance, or urine alcohol and drug tests conducted upon persons receiving medical treatment in a hospital emergency room are admissible in evidence as a business record exception to the hearsay rule only in prosecutions for any violation of Section 5-16 of this Act or a similar provision of a local ordinance or in prosecutions for reckless homicide brought under the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, when: (1) the chemical tests performed upon an individual's blood, other bodily substance, or urine were ordered in the regular course of providing emergency treatment and not at the request of law enforcement authorities; and (2) the chemical tests performed upon an individual's blood, other bodily substance, or urine were performed by the laboratory routinely used by the hospital. Results of chemical tests performed upon an individual's blood, other bodily substance, or urine are admissible into evidence regardless of the time that the records were prepared. (b) The confidentiality provisions of law pertaining to medical records and medical treatment shall not be applicable with regard to chemical tests performed upon an individual's blood, other bodily substance, or urine under the provisions of this Section in prosecutions as specified in subsection (a) of this Section. No person shall be liable for civil damages as a result of the evidentiary use of the results of chemical testing of an individual's blood, other bodily substance, or urine under this Section or as a result of that person's testimony made available under this Section.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 99-697, eff. 7-29-16.)