I FAINTED WHILE DRIVING & STRUCK A TRUCK FROM BEHIND. REALIZING MOST COURTS BELIEVE THIS FACT CREATES A PRIMA FACIE CASE, I CHOSE TO ARGUE A "SUDDEN MEDICAL EMERGENCY" DEFENSE IN COURT.
WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO ADMIT HOSPITAL RECORDS AS EVIDENCE CONTAINING THE DIAGNOSES OF 10+ HOSPITAL DOCTORS, THE JUDGE TOLD ME HE WOULDN'T PERMIT IT UNLESS I ACTUALLY CALLED THOSE DOCTORS TO TESTIFY.
AFTER RESEARCHING THE ADMISSIBILITY OF HOSPITAL RECORDS, I FOUND CASES NUMEROUS WHERE HOSPITAL RECORDS ARE PERMITTED WITHOUT WITNESSES. IN Rupp v. Travelers Indemnity Co., supranote 1, at 22, 115 N.W. 2d at 616. 7WIs. STAT. §251.18 (1961), THE SUPREME COURT CITED THE IMPRACTICALITY OF CALLING SO MANY MEDICAL STAFF TO VALIDATE RECORDS.
DO YOU BELIEVE THE JUDGE "CHOSE" NOT TO ALLOW MY EVIDENCE OR WAS HE IN ERROR?
The judge is always the gatekeeper when it comes to deciding the contents of medical records. In your case, the contents of he records were presumably hearsay as you were offering the out of court statements of doctors into evidence without the doctors being present.
I cannot tell you if the judge was in error or not as I do not have the benefit of the record.
As my colleague has correctly advised, medical records are hearsay documents. There are exceptions to hearsay that could get them admitted, such as being a business record, but that requires proof that you have a true and correct business record -- generally requiring the testimony of a custodian of records. In your situation, you needed a doctor to testify not only as to what was in the records, but also as to whether or not that specific condition caused you to faint, resulting in the accident. The cases you have cited are not from Nevada, and therefore not binding authority here. And you only needed 1 doctor, not 10. Honestly, I believe you created your own Catch-22. By admitting you had a KNOWN medical condition that could cause you to faint at any time, but still choosing to drive (I don't know how you have kept your license if you have 10+ doctors diagnosing you with this horrible condition), you ADMITTED to your own negligence, at the very least, and perhaps even criminal conduct. The "sudden medical emergency" defense is for those who have unknown medical conditions that manifest while driving. It is not meant for those with dangerous medical conditions who choose to drive anyway.
You would at minimum need an affidavit of a custodian of records, and possibly testimony of the custodian and/or testimony of a physician. Hire a lawyer why screw around. You don't know what you are doing. Would you do surgery on yourself? Did you build your own house?
