I've received questions from both prosecutors and defense lawyers about whether and how the state can obtain a suspect's -- or a defendant's -- medical records when those records may contain information relevant to a criminal investigation. The most frequently-asked questions are addressed in the scenario below. Take a look, and post a comment if you disagree with my analysis of the law. Suppose that Dan Driver has a one-car accident. Ollie Officer responds to the scene. Because it is 2:00 a.m. and there is no obvious cause for the accident, Ollie suspects Dan of DWI. EMTs take Dan to the local hospital for treatment, and Ollie is not able to, or simply fails to, obtain a blood sample under the implied-consent laws. Ollie contacts Paul Prosecutor and asks him to obtain a court order for Dan's medical records, which Ollie knows are likely to contain bloodwork reflecting Dan's blood alcohol content. Paul agrees to seek the order, and prepares a motion and order under G.S. 8-53, which allows the disclosure of otherwise-privileged health care records if "necessary to a proper administration of justice." 1. Is such an order even necessary? Generally, yes. Under G.S. 90-21.20B, a health care provider must, upon request, "disclose to any law enforcement officer investigating the crash" certain information about Dan, because he was involved in an accident, including "name, location, and whether the person appears to be impaired by alcohol [or] drugs." But this does not appear to authorize health care providers to disclose Dan's [...]
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