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Blood Test
The blood test is more reliable than the breath
test. However, it is rarely used due to the expense involved and
the impracticality of taking every arrestee to the hospital. By
law, evidential blood tests must be drawn by a doctor, nurse or
qualified medical technician. Another problem with the blood test
is that it can be hard for the prosecutor to get the results into
evidence.
A blood test is most often used when a person is
suspected of being under the influence of something other than alcohol
or when there has been an accident. If the driver was injured in
an accident, blood will almost always be taken upon arrival at the
hospital. In the case where blood is drawn for medical purposes
(i.e., to type the blood or determine whether there is anything
in the blood that would react adversely to medication) as opposed
to legal purposes, the police may obtain the results by a search
warrant served on the hospital records. In Kansas, there is no doctor-patient
privilege protecting such a test. There is, however, a federal law
that prohibits hospitals from disclosing confidential information
about patients treated in the hospital for drug or alcohol related
issues. Thus, when blood is drawn without a request from law enforcement,
it is extremely important to contact the hospital's attorneys immediately
with notice of the federal confidentiality law and to assert the
patient's right to confidentiality. When blood is drawn for legal
purposes, at the request of the police, the driver must get the
Implied Consent notice.
There are many other issues with regard to blood
tests, like: was the person's arm swabbed with alcohol prior to
the test? Was anticoagulant mixed with the sample? Was a preservative
used? Did the test measure whole blood or just the plasma? Blood
tests always warrant serious and immediate action and investigation.
Often this includes interviewing any and all doctors and nurses
that had contact with the subject of the blood test.
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Test)
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