Hearsay exceptions: Statement made for medical diagnosis or treatment. Which rule?

• A. Rule 803 (1)
• B. Rule 803 (2)
• C. Rule 803 (3)
• D. Rule 803 (4)

Answer: (D)

The concept here is that statements made for the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment can be admitted as a hearsay exception. This is Rule 803(4). It covers statements describing medical history, symptoms, or the cause of the condition when they’re made to help diagnose or treat the patient. For example, a patient telling a clinician, “I’ve had chest pain for two days,” or “I started feeling weak after that fall,” is the kind of information the medical team relies on to diagnose and treat, so it’s admissible under this rule. This rule is about information the medical provider needs, not about statements made for purposes unrelated to medical care. Other types of hearsay exceptions cover different scenarios—like statements describing an event as it’s happening or statements about the declarant’s current state of mind—so they don’t apply to the medical-diagnosis-or-treatment context.