State of Ohio v. Pulaski,
No. 19790 (Ohio Ct. App. Sept. 12, 2003)

The Ohio Court of Appeals ruled that a federal law protecting the confidentiality of drug and alcohol abuse records (42 U.S.C. § 290dd) only applies when patients seek treatment for substance abuse, not when they are treated after being in an alcohol-related car accident. Thus, the results of the blood alcohol test that the hospital took following the patient's car accident and provided to police were admissible as evidence.