If you are charged with a third-offense OUI in Massachusetts, you may believe that refusing a breath test protects you from chemical evidence at trial. However, a recent case confirmed that prosecutors can still introduce blood alcohol content (BAC) calculations based on hospital records. Even without your permission, hospital blood work collected during medical care may lead to a conviction.
In this case, police stopped a driver who showed signs of intoxication. He refused a breath test at the station and was later taken to a hospital for treatment. Medical professionals drew his blood for clinical reasons, not for law enforcement. Police later obtained a warrant for the samples and sent them to a crime lab. A judge suppressed those results, but prosecutors still moved forward using records from the hospital and a scientific conversion to estimate his BAC. The state’s highest court ruled that this converted evidence could be used.