MEDICAL EVIDENCE

EVIDENCE

The means, sanctioned by the Rules of Court, of

ascertaining in a judicial proceeding the truth
respecting a matter of fact. (Sec. 1, Rule 128, Rules
of Court)
The species of proof, or probative matter, legally
presented at the trial of an issue by the act of the
parties and through the medium of witnesses,
records, documents, concrete objects for the
purpose of inducing belief in the minds of the Court
as to their contention (Blacks Law Dictionary)

MEDICAL EVIDENCE

If the means employed to prove a fact is

MEDICAL IN NATURE

Admissibility of Evidence

Relevant to the issue

Not excluded by the Rules

Types of Medical Evidences

A. Autoptic or Real
B. Testimonial
C. Experimental
D.Documentary
E. Physical

AUTOPTIC OR REAL EVIDENCE

Evidence made known or addressed to the senses of

the court
Perceived through the senses
Limitations:

Indecency and Impropriety sexual crimes

Repulsive Objects cadaver, persons suffering from
infectious disease

Testimonial Evidence

Oral testimony and under oath

The physician as

Ordinary Witness: testifies on matters he perceived

from his patient in the course of his treatment
Expert Witness: On account of his training and
experience, he gives his opinion on a set of medical
facts.

He can deduce or infer something, determine the cause of

death, render an opinion pertinent to the issue.

WITNESS
NOT DISQUALIFIED

Parties or other persons interested in the

outcome of the case

Persons who have been convicted of a crime

Persons on account of his opinion on matters

of religious belief (Sec. 18, Rule 130, Rules
of Court)

DISQUALIFIED

Unsound mind

Children of tender age and inferior capacity

Parties to a case

Husband or wife without each others

consent

Descendant against his parents or ascendant

Privileged Communication
(Sec. 21(c), Rule 130, Rules of Court)

A person authorized to practice Medicine, Surgery

or Obstetrics cannot in a civil case, without the
consent of the patient, be examined as to any
information which he may have acquired in
attending such patient in a professional capacity,
which information was necessary to enable him to
act in that capacity, and which blacken the
character of the patient.

REQUISITES OF PRIVILEGED INFORMATION

BETWEEN PHYSICIAN AND HIS PATIENT

The privilege is claimed in a Civil Case

The person against whom the privilege is claimed is
one duly authorized to practice Medicine, Surgery
or Obstetrics
The physician acquired the information while he
was attending the patient in his professional
capacity, which information was necessary to
enable him to act in that capacity
The information is confidential and, if disclosed,
will tend to blacken the character of the patient.

Hearsay Informations

Not admissible in court

A repetition of what a witness heard from other
people
Second-hand evidence

Dying Declaration

Declaration of a dying person

Exception to the non-admissibility of the hearsay
evidence
Requisites:

The declarant was conscious of his impending death

The declaration must be with regards to his impending
death
The declarant was in full possession of his mental
faculties when he made the declaration
The evidence is presented in court in a case of
homicide, murder or parricide wherein the declarant
was the victim

EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE

Experiment done on lower animals to prove a

scientific fact
Example: the issue of how long a person can survive
with a lethal dose of poison is duplicated by
administration of the poison in lower animals within
the view of the court

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

An instrument on which is recorded by means of

letters, figures or marks any matter which may be
used as evidence
Types:

Medical certification or report

Medical Expert Opinion
Deposition a written record of evidence given orally
and transcribed in writing in the form of question
(interrogator) and answer (deponent) and signed by the
latter.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

Articles and materials found in connection with the

investigation
Aid in establishing the identity of the perpetrator
(corpus delicte evidence- part of the body of the
crime)
Aid in establishing the circumstances under which
the crime was committed (associative evidence
links a suspect to the crime)
Assists in the prosecution of the criminal (tracing
evidence- assist in locating the suspect)

Methods of Preserving Evidences

Photographs, Audio-video tape, microfilm,etc

Sketching rough sketch, finished sketch
Description
Manikin Method- miniature model of a scene or of a
human body indicating marks of injuries
Preservation in the Mind of the Witness
Special Methods embalming, use of formalin and
other chemical preservatives, refrigeration, drying,
sealed container

LOCARDS PRINCIPLE

When a person or object comes in contact with

another person or object, there exists a possibility
that an exchange of materials will take place.

Kinds of Evidence Necessary for Conviction

Direct Evidence proves the fact in dispute without

the aid of inference or presumption

Circumstantial Evidence- the fact/facts, singly or

collectively, must prove through inference the
existence of a particular fact in dispute