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Bartel v. State8/27/1985
admissibility of blood test results in civil cases than in criminal cases, McAlpine nonetheless requires that test procedures accord with "good practice in the field" to assure reliable results. Bartel alleges numerous inadequacies in the blood test procedure which he contends are deviations from good medical practice. He alleges these deviations render the test results in this case unreliable. Bartel contends there is no evidence other than the blood test results that he was intoxicated or impaired in his ability to drive. Because the State's defense depended upon showing that Bartel was intoxicated, Bartel argues that the erroneous admission of Exhibit X, the lab report containing the blood test results, was extremely prejudicial and constitutes reversible error.
A review of the detailed foundation testimony is appropriate here.
Three hospital employees testified at trial regarding Bartel's blood test and routine blood test procedure. Barbara Westphal-Marcus, an R.N. who participated in Bartel's emergency room treatment, charted the treatment Bartel received. The chart showed that an I.V. was started at 3:30 a.m. and that the drug mannitol was administered at 3:35 a.m., although the chart did not show specifically when blood was drawn. However, Westphal-Marcus testified that as a matter of routine practice, blood is drawn for testing when an I.V. is started. She described routine procedure for starting an I.V. and drawing blood for alcohol testing: the patient's arm is prepped with betadine, a non-alcoholic solution; the needle and catheter are inserted; the needle is then removed from the catheter; before the blood-drawing syringe is inserted into the catheter, blood is spilled from the catheter; the syringe is inserted and 10 cc.'s of blood are drawn; the blood is put immediately into two tubes, marked with the patient's name and ER chart number, and handed to the lab technician.
Westphal-Marcus testified she was present when Bartel's blood was drawn. She stated that based on routine practice, Bartel's blood was drawn at 3:30 a.m. when the I.V. was started. Responding to questions from the court, she indicated that nothing unusual had been done in Bartel's case. While betadine is usually used for prepping where alcohol testing is anticipated, Westphal-Marcus could not state with certainty that isopropyl alcohol was not used on this occasion. However, she stated that the blood spill which occurs before the syringe is inserted and blood is drawn would remove any taint caused by use of an isopropyl alcohol prepping solution. She noted that in Bartel's case a large catheter was used and a lot of blood was spilled. She concluded that good medical practice was used in drawing Bartel's blood and that the test results were reliable.
Leilani Heuer is the lab technician who tested Bartel's blood. She recognized and identified Exhibit X as an accurate copy of the lab report she had prepared from the original test printout and signed the night of Bartel's accident. Heuer described for the court the routine testing procedure employed. She stated that the testing machine is calibrated before the first test of every night as a matter of routine practice. She produced at trial the record of calibration for the day of Bartel's blood test. She stated that quality control testing is done every day, but records of that testing are kept for only one year. Heuer testified that isopropyl alcohol would interfere with test results only if the patient had ingested it, and that in her experience negative test results had occurred even though isopropyl alcohol had been used to prepare the patient's skin for the blood drawing. Heuer stated that original machine printouts for spe
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