FORT WORTH COURT OF APPEALS ILLUSTRATES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION HEARSAY EXCEPTION OFTEN APPLIES IN CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CASES

 

The Texas Second District Court of Appeals at Fort Worth ruled in May on a common hearsay problem in child sexual abuse cases.   The ruling was made specifically in a case that was tried in a District Court in Tarrant County.

In child sexual abuse cases there are basic rules about using statements that the child made to adults. The primary rule is an exception to the rule that hearsay (an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted) is inadmissible. https://askcompetentlawyer.com/sex-crimes/ When the statement is made to the first adult who heard fairly substantial details from the child, the statement of the child is admissible despite the general hearsay rule. Sometimes the State runs afoul of this “outcry exception” when the statements are really not very detailed or when multiple outcry witnesses are used.

There is a fall back that saves the State in most situations where the outcry statement cannot be used. In many child abuse cases, such as in the Fort Worth case, the child will be examined by a doctor or by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, even if the claims are made long after the alleged abuse. This is because the agencies that work with the State in investigating sexual abuse cases know that there the Texas Rules of Evidence also allow a hearsay exception with respect to statements made for the purposes of medical treatment, including statements about “medical history,” which can involve symptoms, sensations, or pain that have to do with anything. The statements only have to “pertinent” to the diagnosis of possible injury or abuse or the treatment of it.