CHAPTER 3. Other Evidence Affected or Excluded by Extrinsic Policies [1150 - 1162]
( Heading of Chapter 3 renumbered from Chapter 2 by Stats. 1997, Ch. 772, Sec. 4. )
(a) Upon an inquiry as to the validity of a verdict, any otherwise admissible evidence may be received as to statements made, or conduct, conditions, or events occurring, either within or without the jury room, of such a character as is likely to have influenced the verdict improperly. No evidence is admissible to show the effect of such statement, conduct, condition, or event upon a juror either in influencing him to assent to or dissent from the verdict or concerning the mental processes by which it was determined.
(b) Nothing in this code affects the law relating to the competence of a juror to give evidence to impeach or support a verdict.
(Enacted by Stats. 1965, Ch. 299.)
When, after the occurrence of an event, remedial or precautionary measures are taken, which, if taken previously, would have tended to make the event less likely to occur, evidence of such subsequent measures is inadmissible to prove negligence or culpable conduct in connection with the event.
(Enacted by Stats. 1965, Ch. 299.)
(a) Evidence that a person has, in compromise or from humanitarian motives, furnished or offered or promised to furnish money or any other thing, act, or service to another who has sustained or will sustain or claims that he or she has sustained or will sustain loss or damage, as well as any conduct or statements made in negotiation thereof, is inadmissible to prove his or her liability for the loss or damage or any part of it.
(b) In the event that evidence of an offer to compromise is admitted in an action for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing or violation of subdivision (h) of Section 790.03 of the Insurance Code, then at the request of the party against whom the evidence is admitted, or at the request of the party who made the offer to compromise that was admitted, evidence relating to any other offer or counteroffer to compromise the same or substantially the same claimed loss or damage shall also be admissible for the same purpose as the initial evidence regarding settlement. Other than as may be admitted in an action for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing or violation of subdivision (h) of Section 790.03 of the Insurance Code, evidence of settlement offers shall not be admitted in a motion for a new trial, in any proceeding involving an additur or remittitur, or on appeal.
(c) This section does not affect the admissibility of evidence of any of the following:
(1) Partial satisfaction of an asserted claim or demand without questioning its validity when such evidence is offered to prove the validity of the claim.
(2) A debtor’s payment or promise to pay all or a part of his or her preexisting debt when such evidence is offered to prove the creation of a new duty on his or her part or a revival of his or her preexisting duty.
(Amended by Stats. 1987, Ch. 496, Sec. 1.)
Evidence of a plea of guilty, later withdrawn, or of an offer to plead guilty to the crime charged or to any other crime, made by the defendant in a criminal action is inadmissible in any action or in any proceeding of any nature, including proceedings before agencies, commissions, boards, and tribunals.
(Enacted by Stats. 1965, Ch. 299.)
Evidence of an offer for civil resolution of a criminal matter pursuant to the provisions of Section 33 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or admissions made in the course of or negotiations for the offer shall not be admissible in any action.
(Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1518, Sec. 2.)
Evidence that a person has accepted or offered or promised to accept a sum of money or any other thing, act, or service in satisfaction of a claim, as well as any conduct or statements made in negotiation thereof, is inadmissible to prove the invalidity of the claim or any part of it.
(Enacted by Stats. 1965, Ch. 299.)
Evidence that a person was, at the time a harm was suffered by another, insured wholly or partially against loss arising from liability for that harm is inadmissible to prove negligence or other wrongdoing.
(Enacted by Stats. 1965, Ch. 299.)
(a) In-hospital medical or medical-dental staff committees of a licensed hospital may engage in research and medical or dental study for the purpose of reducing morbidity or mortality, and may make findings and recommendations relating to such purpose. Except as provided in subdivision (b), the written records of interviews, reports, statements, or memoranda of such in-hospital medical or medical-dental staff committees relating to such medical or dental studies are subject to Title 4 (commencing with Section 2016.010) of Part 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure (relating to discovery proceedings) but, subject to subdivisions (c) and (d), shall not be admitted as evidence in any action or before any administrative body, agency, or person.
(b) The disclosure, with or without the consent of the patient, of information concerning him to such in-hospital medical or medical-dental staff committee does not make unprivileged any information that would otherwise be privileged under Section 994 or 1014; but, notwithstanding Sections 994 and 1014, such information is subject to discovery under subdivision (a) except that the identity of any patient may not be discovered under subdivision (a) unless the patient consents to such disclosure.
(c) This section does not affect the admissibility in evidence of the original medical or dental records of any patient.
(d) This section does not exclude evidence which is relevant evidence in a criminal action.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 182, Sec. 30. Effective January 1, 2005. Operative July 1, 2005, by Sec. 64 of Ch. 182.)
(a) A committee established in compliance with Sections 4070 and 5624 of the Welfare and Institutions Code may engage in research and medical or psychiatric study for the purpose of reducing morbidity or mortality, and may make findings and recommendations to the county and state relating to such purpose. Except as provided in subdivision (b), the written records of interviews, reports, statements, or memoranda of such committees relating to such medical or psychiatric studies are subject to Title 4 (commencing with Section 2016.010) of Part 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure but, subject to subdivisions (c) and (d), shall not be admitted as evidence in any action or before any administrative body, agency, or person.
(b) The disclosure, with or without the consent of the patient, of information concerning him or her to such committee does not make unprivileged any information that would otherwise be privileged under Section 994 or 1014. However, notwithstanding Sections 994 and 1014, such information is subject to discovery under subdivision (a) except that the identity of any patient may not be discovered under subdivision (a) unless the patient consents to such disclosure.
(c) This section does not affect the admissibility in evidence of the original medical or psychiatric records of any patient.
(d) This section does not exclude evidence which is relevant evidence in a criminal action.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 182, Sec. 31. Effective January 1, 2005. Operative July 1, 2005, by Sec. 64 of Ch. 182.)
(a) Evidence that a person suffered or experienced excited delirium shall not be admitted in any civil action.
(b) A party or witness may describe the factual circumstances surrounding the case, including a person’s demeanor, conduct, and physical and mental condition at issue, including, but not limited to, a person’s state of agitation, excitability, paranoia, extreme aggression, physical violence, and apparent immunity to pain, but shall not describe or diagnose such demeanor, conduct, or condition
by use of the term excited delirium, or attribute such demeanor, conduct, or physical and mental condition to that term.
(c) For the purposes of this section, “excited delirium” means a term used to describe a person’s state of agitation, excitability, paranoia, extreme aggression, physical violence, and apparent immunity to pain that is not listed in the most current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or for which the court finds there is insufficient scientific evidence or diagnostic criteria to be recognized as a medical condition. Excited delirium
also includes excited delirium syndrome, excited delirium, hyperactive delirium, agitated delirium, and exhaustive mania.
(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 431, Sec. 1. (AB 360) Effective January 1, 2024.)
(a) Neither the proceedings nor the records of organized committees of medical, medical-dental, podiatric, registered dietitian, psychological, marriage and family therapist, licensed clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, pharmacist, or veterinary staffs in hospitals, or of a peer review body, as defined in Section 805 of the Business and Professions Code, having the responsibility of evaluation and improvement of the quality of care rendered in the hospital, or for that peer review body, or medical or dental review or dental hygienist review or chiropractic review or podiatric review or registered dietitian review or pharmacist review or veterinary review or acupuncturist review or licensed midwife review committees of local
medical, dental, dental hygienist, podiatric, dietetic, pharmacist, veterinary, acupuncture, or chiropractic societies, marriage and family therapist, licensed clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, or psychological review committees of state or local marriage and family therapist, state or local licensed clinical social worker, state or local licensed professional clinical counselor, or state or local psychological associations or societies or licensed midwife associations or societies having the responsibility of evaluation and improvement of the quality of care, shall be subject to discovery.
(b) Except as hereinafter provided, a person in attendance at a meeting of any of the committees described in subdivision (a) shall not be required to testify as to what transpired at that meeting.
(c) The prohibition relating to discovery or testimony does not apply to the statements made by a person in attendance at a meeting of any of the committees described in subdivision (a) if that person is a party to an action or proceeding the subject matter of which was reviewed at that meeting, to a person requesting hospital staff privileges, or in an action against an insurance carrier alleging bad faith by the carrier in refusing to accept a settlement offer within the policy limits.
(d) The prohibitions in this section do not apply to medical, dental, dental hygienist, podiatric, dietetic, psychological, marriage and family therapist, licensed clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, pharmacist, veterinary, acupuncture, midwifery, or chiropractic society
committees that exceed 10 percent of the membership of the society, nor to any of those committees if a person serves upon the committee when his or her own conduct or practice is being reviewed.
(e) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 1081 of the Statutes of 1983, or at the 1985 portion of the 1985–86 Regular Session of the Legislature, at the 1990 portion of the 1989–90 Regular Session of the Legislature, at the 2000 portion of the 1999–2000 Regular Session of the Legislature, at the 2011 portion of the 2011–12 Regular Session of the Legislature, or at the 2015 portion of the 2015–16 Regular Session of the Legislature, do not exclude the discovery or use of relevant evidence in a criminal action.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 775, Sec. 109. (SB 798) Effective January 1, 2018.)
Except in actions involving a claim of a provider of health care services for payment for such services, the prohibition relating to discovery or testimony provided by Section 1157 shall be applicable to the proceedings or records of an organized committee of any nonprofit medical care foundation or professional standards review organization which is organized in a manner which makes available professional competence to review health care services with respect to medical necessity, quality of care, or economic justification of charges or level of care.
(Amended by Stats. 1980, Ch. 524.)
Neither the proceedings nor the records of a committee established in compliance with Sections 4070 and 5624 of the Welfare and Institutions Code having the responsibility of evaluation and improvement of the quality of mental health care rendered in county operated and contracted mental health facilities shall be subject to discovery. Except as provided in this section, no person in attendance at a meeting of any such committee shall be required to testify as to what transpired thereat. The prohibition relating to discovery or testimony shall not apply to the statements made by any person in attendance at such a meeting who is a party to an action or proceeding the subject matter of which was reviewed at such meeting, or to any person requesting facility staff privileges.
(Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 234, Sec. 5. Effective June 2, 1982.)
The prohibition relating to discovery or testimony provided in Section 1157 shall be applicable to proceedings and records of any committee established by a local governmental agency to monitor, evaluate, and report on the necessity, quality, and level of specialty health services, including, but not limited to, trauma care services, provided by a general acute care hospital that has been designated or recognized by that governmental agency as qualified to render specialty health care services. The provisions of Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code and Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code shall not be applicable to the committee records
and proceedings.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 105. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)
(a) For purposes of this section, “medical provider” means physician and surgeon, dentist, registered nurse, dispensing optician, registered physical therapist, podiatrist, licensed psychologist, osteopathic physician and surgeon, chiropractor, clinical laboratory bioanalyst, clinical laboratory technologist, or pharmacist or pharmacy, duly licensed as such under the laws of the state, or a licensed hospital.
(b) Before the filing of any action or the appearance of a defendant in an action, if an attorney at law or his or her representative presents a written authorization therefor signed by an adult patient, by the guardian or conservator of his or her person or estate, or, in the case of a minor, by a parent or guardian of the minor, or by the personal representative or an heir of a deceased patient, or a copy thereof, to a medical provider, the medical provider shall
promptly make all of the patient’s records under the medical
provider’s custody or control available for inspection and copying by the attorney at law or his or her representative.
(c) Copying of medical records shall not be performed by a medical provider, or by an agent thereof, when the requesting attorney has employed a professional photocopier or anyone identified in Section 22451 of the Business and Professions Code as his or her representative to obtain or review the records on his or her behalf. The presentation of the authorization by the agent on behalf of the attorney shall be sufficient proof that the agent is the attorney’s representative.
(d) Failure to make the records available during business hours, within five days after the presentation of the written authorization, may subject the medical provider having custody or control of the records to liability for all reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred in any proceeding to enforce this section.
(e) (1) All reasonable costs incurred by a medical provider in making patient records available pursuant to this section may be charged against the
attorney who requested the records.
(2) “Reasonable cost,” as used in this section, shall include, but not be limited to, the following specific costs: ten cents ($0.10) per page for standard reproduction of documents of a size 81/2 by 14 inches or less; twenty cents ($0.20) per page for copying of documents from microfilm; actual costs for the reproduction of oversize documents or the reproduction of documents requiring special processing which are made in response to an authorization; reasonable clerical costs incurred in locating and making the records available to be billed at the maximum rate of sixteen dollars ($16) per hour per person, computed on the basis of four dollars ($4) per quarter hour or fraction thereof; actual postage
charges; and actual costs, if any, charged to the witness by a third person for the retrieval and return of records held by that third person.
(f) If the records are delivered to the attorney or the attorney’s representative for inspection or photocopying at the record custodian’s place of business, the only fee for complying with the authorization shall not exceed fifteen dollars ($15), plus actual costs, if any, charged to the record custodian by a third person for retrieval and return of records held offsite by the third person.
(g) If the records requested pursuant to subdivision (b) are maintained electronically and if the requesting party requests an electronic copy of such information, the medical provider shall provide the requested medical records in the electronic form and format requested by the requesting party, if it is readily producible in such form and format, or, if not, in a readable form and format as agreed to by the medical provider and the requesting party.
(h) A medical provider
shall accept a signed and completed authorization form for the disclosure of health information if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The medical provider determines that the form is valid.
(2) The form is printed in a typeface no smaller than 14-point type and is in substantially the following form:
AUTHORIZATION FOR DISCLOSURE OF HEALTH INFORMATION PURSUANT
TO EVIDENCE CODE SECTION 1158 The undersigned authorizes the medical provider designated below to disclose specified medical records to a designated recipient. The medical provider
shall not condition treatment, payment, enrollment, or eligibility for benefits on the submission of this authorization. |
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Medical provider: ________________
Patient name: ________________ Medical record number: ________________ Date of birth: ________________ Address: ________________ Telephone number: ________________ Email: ________________
Recipient name: ________________ Recipient address: ________________ Recipient
telephone number: ________________ Recipient email: ________________
Health information requested (check all that apply): ___Records dated from ________ to ________. ___Radiology records: ________ images or films ________ reports________digital/CD, if available. ___Laboratory results dated. ___Laboratory results regarding specific test(s) only (specify)________. ___All records. ___Records related to a specific injury, treatment, or other purpose (specify):
________________.
Note: records may include information related to mental health, alcohol or drug use, and HIV or AIDS. However, treatment records from mental health and alcohol or drug departments and results of HIV tests will not be disclosed unless specifically requested (check all that apply):
___Mental health records. ___Alcohol or drug records. ___HIV test results.
Method of delivery of requested records: ___Mail ___Pick up ___Electronic delivery, recipient email:________________
This authorization is effective for one year from the date of the
signature unless a different date is specified here: ________________.
This authorization may be revoked upon written request, but any revocation will not apply to information disclosed before receipt of the written request.
A copy of this authorization is as valid as the original. The undersigned has the right to receive a copy of this authorization.
Notice: Once the requested health information is disclosed, any disclosure of the information by the recipient may no longer be protected under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Patient signature*: ________________ Date: ________________ Print name: ________________
*If not signed by the patient, please indicate relationship to the patient (check one, if applicable):
___Parent or guardian of minor patient who could not have consented to health care. ___Guardian or conservator of an incompetent patient. ___Beneficiary or personal representative of deceased patient. |
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 528, Sec. 1. (AB 1337) Effective January 1, 2016.)
(a) No evidence pertaining to live animal experimentation, including, but not limited to, injury, impact, or crash experimentation, shall be admissible in any product liability action involving a motor vehicle or vehicles.
(b) This section shall apply to cases for which a trial has not actually commenced, as described in paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 581 of the Code of Civil Procedure, on January 1, 1993.
(Added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 188, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1993.)
(a) The portion of statements, writings, or benevolent gestures expressing sympathy or a general sense of benevolence relating to the pain, suffering, or death of a person involved in an accident and made to that person or to the family of that person shall be inadmissible as evidence of an admission of liability in a civil action. A statement of fault, however, which is part of, or in addition to, any of the above shall not be inadmissible pursuant to this section.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Accident” means an occurrence resulting in injury or death to one or more persons which is not the result of willful action by a party.
(2) “Benevolent gestures” means actions which convey a sense of compassion or commiseration emanating from humane impulses.
(3) “Family” means the spouse, parent, grandparent, stepmother, stepfather, child, grandchild, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, adopted children of parent, or spouse’s parents of an injured party.
(Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 195, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2001.)
(a) Evidence that a victim of human trafficking, as defined in Section 236.1 of the Penal Code, has engaged in any commercial sexual act as a result of being a victim of human trafficking is inadmissible to prove the victim’s criminal liability for the commercial sexual act.
(b) Evidence of sexual history or history of any commercial sexual act of a victim of human trafficking, as defined in Section 236.1 of the Penal Code, is inadmissible to attack the credibility or impeach the character of the victim in any civil or criminal
proceeding.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 126, Sec. 1. (AB 694) Effective January 1, 2014. Note: This section was added on Nov. 6, 2012, by initiative Prop. 35.)
Evidence that a victim of, or a witness to, a serious felony as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 of, an assault in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 245 of, domestic violence in violation of Section 273.5 of, extortion in violation of Section 518 of, human trafficking in violation of Section 236.1 of, sexual battery in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 243.4 of, or stalking in violation of Section 646.9 of, the Penal Code, has engaged in an act of prostitution at or around the
time they were the victim of or witness to the crime is inadmissible in a separate prosecution of that victim or witness to prove criminal liability for the act of prostitution.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 141, Sec. 3. (SB 233) Effective January 1, 2020.)