MBE Rules · Evidence
Medical payments / plea negotiations
FRE 409, 410
The rule
409: Payment of medical/hospital expenses inadmissible to prove liability (but statements accompanying payment ARE admissible). 410: Withdrawn guilty pleas, nolo contendere pleas, and statements during plea negotiations with a prosecutor are inadmissible against the defendant.
In plain English
If you pay someone's medical bills after an accident, it can't be used to show you were at fault, but what you say while paying can be used. Also, if you try to make a deal with the prosecutor and it doesn't work out, what you said can't be used against you in court.
Worked example
After a car accident, the defendant pays the victim's hospital bills and says, 'I'm sorry for causing this.' The payment can't prove fault, but the apology can be used in court. In a separate case, the defendant discusses a plea deal with the prosecutor but later decides not to plead guilty. Those discussions can't be used against him in trial.
Memory hook
Paying bills, save the spills. Medical payments don't prove fault, but watch what you say.
The trap
Students think: All statements during medical payments inadmissible. Wrong, because only the payment itself is protected. The actual test is whether the accompanying statements are admissions.
How examiners test it
The MBE loves: defendant pays hospital bills and makes a statement. Question: is the statement admissible? Trap: students assume no, but the statement can be used as an admission.
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