Subpoena for Medical Records in Polk County
Many DUI investigations in Polk County, FL, begin with a routine traffic stop or a crash. After the crash, the driver might be taken to the hospital for emergency medical treatment.
Long after being released from the hospital, the driver might receive notice that the State Attorney’s Office in Polk County, FL, is conducting a DUI investigation.
After learning about the criminal investigation, the driver should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney.
A DUI that causes property damage or even non-serious injuries comes with enhanced penalties. If anyone was seriously injured in the crash, the DUI can be charged as a felony offense.
The harshest penalties are reserved for DUI manslaughter cases in which someone is killed due to injuries sustained in the crash.
No matter the circumstances, if you received notice that the State Attorney’s Office wants to subpoena your medical records, seek out an experienced attorney.
Attorneys for the DUI Medical Records Subpoena in Polk County, FL
What if the prosecutor from the State Attorney’s office in Polk County, FL, sends you a letter regarding an investigative subpoena for medical records after a DUI crash involving property damage?
The DUI defense attorneys at Sammis Law Firm represent clients charged with DUI or DUI property damage throughout Polk County.
We represent clients at the courthouses in Bartow, Lakeland, or Winter Haven, FL. We also represent clients throughout the greater Tampa Bay area.
Over the years, we have successfully challenged attempts by the State Attorney’s Office to obtain medical records.
Call us to discuss the DUI investigation, how to mount an aggressive defense, and how to fight for the best outcome in your case.
Our DUI defense attorneys for Polk County, FL, provide a free consultation if you were served with a State Attorney’s Subpoena for medical records in a DUI investigation.
We can help you file the appropriate objection to the issuance of the subpoena.
Call us today at (813) 250-0500.
DUI Investigations at the Hospital After a Crash
During a crash investigation, officers at the scene might become suspicious that the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
If the driver needs emergency medical treatment, the officer might go to the hospital to investigate the DUI.
Just like in a roadside investigation, the officer is trying to determine whether he can smell the odor of alcohol on the suspect’s breath.
The officer looks for clues of impairment, such as the odor of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot or watery eyes.
The officer will question the driver to determine whether the driver will admit to any of the following:
- driving at the time of the crash;
- consuming alcohol or drugs before driving;
- being under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of driving.
The officer might also question the nurse or doctor about the alcohol concentration of the patient’s blood or the presence of a controlled substance.
The nurse or doctor might tell the investigating officer about any lab results for Ethanol (Alc) Level measured in gm/dL (the medical blood results).
The officer might also ask the subject to submit to a “voluntary” blood test so that a blood sample can be sent to the crime lab to determine the presence of alcohol or controlled substances in the blood (the legal blood results).
The person in the hospital is not required to speak to the officer. The patient can involve their Fifth (5th) Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and their Sixth (6th) Amendment right to representation by counsel.
Any statements made by the patient can and will be used against them in a prosecution for DUI.
Notice of Issuance of Subpoena for Medical Records in a DUI Investigation
The letter from the Unit Supervisor for County Court at the State Attorney’s Office for the Tenth Judicial Circuit in Bartow, Polk County, FL, provides:
Please find enclosed a Notice of Issuance of Subpoena for Medical Records and a copy of the Investigative Subpoena to be sent to [[a specific hospital or medical facility]].
If you have an objection to our office receiving these records on behalf of law enforcement please contact my office at 863-534-4926 by [[a specific data]].
If the notice has been returned as received and I have not heard from you by [[the specific date]], I will forward the subpoena to the [[hospital or medical facility]] to obtain these records.
If you have an objection to our office receiving these records on behalf of law enforcement please contact my office at 863-534-4926 by [[a specific data]]. If the notice has been returned as received and I have not heard from you by [[the specific date]], I will forward the subpoena to the [[hospital or medical facility]] to obtain these records.
If the notice has been returned as received and I have not heard from you by [[the specific date]], I will forward the subpoena to the [[hospital or medical facility]] to obtain these records.
Attached to the letter, you will find a notice of issuance of a subpoena for medical records which provides the following:
IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA
STATE OF FLORIDA,
v.
JOHN DOE.
NOTICE OF ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENA FOR MEDICAL RECORDS
COMES NOW the State of Florida, through the undersigned Assistant State Attorney, and hereby gives notice to _________________, DOB:__________, that the State of Florida will cause the Clerk of Circuit Court to issue the attached subpoena.
The subpoena is addressed to [[hospital or medical facility]] on [[date]], for TOXICOLOGY RECORDS pertaining to the treatment of [[name]].
This notice is given pursuant to Section 395.3025, 401.30, Florida Statutes.
Sample Form for the Investigative Subpoena Duces Tecum for Medical Records
In these cases, the Assistant State Attorney tends to use a standard form in order to obtain the medical records.
The form provides the following:
IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA
STATE ATTORNEYS INVESTIGATIVE SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM FOR MEDICAL RECORDS
STATE OF FLORIDA,
v.
JOHN DOE.
Agency No.:_____
Charges: DUI Secretary: _____ Investigator:_____
Secretary: _____ Investigator:_____
Investigator:_____
To: RECORD CUSTODIAN, MEDICAL RECORDS,
Satisfactory Assurance of Notice – Notice of this subpoena has been given to the patient or the patient’s representative (see attachement0 with an opportunity to object, as required by section 395.3025, 401.30, or 456.057, Florida Statutes, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) 45 CFR 164.512, and the time to object has elapsed and no objections were filed.
YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to furnish to _______, Assistant State Attorney, Drawer SA, P.O. Box 9000, Bartow, Florida 33831, the following documents:
All information concerning blood chemical analysis and/or urine chemical analysis to include Doctor’s / Nurse’s Summary Page(s) pertaining to the treatment of:
Patient:_____ DOB: _____ Date of Treatment:_____
DOB: _____ Date of Treatment:_____
Date of Treatment:_____
YOU MAY COMPLY WITH THIS SUBPOENA BY FURNISHING THE REQUESTED MATERIAL TO THE SERVER OF THIS SUBPOENA OR BY FURNISHING THE MATERIAL BY U.S. MAIL OR IN PERSON NO LATER THAN [[DATE]].
If you will not appear as directed or if you have any questions you must call the Assistant State Attorneys listed above at 863-534-4926 prior to the required time of attendance and advise him/her of your intentions.
You may also appear before a Circuit Court Judge to challenge this subpoena.
If you fail to obey this subpoena, you may be summoned before a Judge of this court and the State Attorney may see an order compelling your attendance.
Motion to Quash the Subpoena for Medical Records
The court, “upon motion made promptly and in any event at or before the time specified in the subpoena for compliance therewith, may . . . quash or modify the subpoena if it is unreasonable and oppressive.” Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.410(c).
The motion to quash is appropriate when the facts of the case show the unreasonableness or oppressiveness of the subpoena.
Determining whether the motion should be granted or not is within the broad judicial discretion of the trial judge.
The trial court’s order will not be overturned absent a clear showing of abuse of that discretion. Matthews v. Cant, 427 So. 2d 369 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983).
The motion to quash a subpoena might also be granted if the subpoena is too indefinite to permit an appropriate response.
The court might also condition the obligation to respond on advancing the costs of producing the medical records under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.410(c).
After a party successfully opposes a subpoena duces tecum, that party can move for an award of attorneys’ fees.
Read more about the policies and procedures for a DUI blood test at the hospital.
Letter to the Hospital to Not Release Medical Records
In addition to objecting to the subpoena, your attorney should send a letter to the hospital, putting them on notice not to release your records.
The letter to the hospital might provide the following:
I represent [name of the patient], who was a patient at [name of hospital] on [date of admittance] through [date of release].
[Patient] received notice that the state attorney’s office is seeking the issuance of a subpoena for medical records. Within fifteen days of that notice, [patient] filed an objection (attached as Exhibit “A”).
In response to the objection, the Honorable [name of the judge] has scheduled a hearing on the objection for [date and time] in courtroom [number] at the courthouse in [location].
Be advised that we are sending [name of hospital] notice that [name of patient] objects to the release of their medical records.
If [name of hospital] receives a subpoena from the state attorney’s office or any law enforcement officer or agency, the records should not be released.
If the patient is alleged to have previously given consent to release the records, the patient withdraws any such consent.
[Patient] is opposed to the release of the records. If [hospital] becomes aware of any requests for [patient’s] medical records, whether by subpoena, search warrant, or other official court documentation, [hospital] should not respond until after [patient] has been notified of the request and provided an opportunity to object to the production of those records.
[Patient] also asserts the protections provided under HIPPA, which protects such records from release.
Sincerely,
[name of attorney]
This article was last updated on Friday, May 12, 2023.
