SECTIONS 1150-1160 - California Statutes

EVIDENCE CODE

SECTION 1150-1160

1150. (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.

1151. 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.

1152. (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.

1153. 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.

1153.5. 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.

1154. 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.

1155. 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.

1156. (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.

1156.1. (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.

1157. (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, 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 veterinary review or acupuncturist
review committees of local medical, dental, dental hygienist,
podiatric, dietetic, veterinary, acupuncture, or chiropractic
societies, marriage and family therapist, licensed clinical social
worker, or psychological review committees of state or local marriage
and family therapist, state or local licensed clinical social
worker, or state or local psychological 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, no person in attendance at a
meeting of any of those committees shall 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 any person in attendance at a meeting
of any of those committees who is a party to an action or proceeding
the subject matter of which was reviewed at that meeting, or to any
person requesting hospital staff privileges, or in any 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,
veterinary, acupuncture, or chiropractic society committees that
exceed 10 percent of the membership of the society, nor to any of
those committees if any 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, or at the 1990 portion of the 1989-90
Regular Session of the Legislature, or at the 2000 portion of the
1999-2000 Regular Session of the Legislature, do not exclude the
discovery or use of relevant evidence in a criminal action.

1157.5. 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.

1157.6. 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.

1157.7. 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 which has been
designated or recognized by that governmental agency as qualified to
render specialty health care services. The provisions of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 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.

1158. Whenever, prior to the filing of any action or the appearance
of a defendant in an action, 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, a 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, shall make
all of the patient's records under his, hers or its custody or
control available for inspection and copying by the attorney at law
or his, or her, representative, promptly upon the presentation of the
written authorization.
No copying may be performed by any medical provider or employer
enumerated above, 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.
Failure to make the records available, during business hours,
within five days after the presentation of the written authorization,
may subject the person or entity 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.
All reasonable costs incurred by any person or entity enumerated
above in making patient records available pursuant to this section
may be charged against the person whose written authorization
required the availability of the records.
"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 8 1/2 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.
Where 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.

1159. (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.

1160. (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.