NYS Gov. David Paterson signed legislation Monday that expands the list of medical professionals authorized to draw blood from alleged drunken drivers without physician supervision, closing a loophole that has allowed some intoxicated motorists to escape prosecution.

New York law allowed physicians, registered professional nurses and registered physician assistants to draw blood from someone accused of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the request of a police officer. A medical laboratory technician or technologist or a phlebotomist could take a blood sample under a doctor’s supervision.

The new law, which the governor signed at an event in Lake Placid, adds advanced EMTs and certified nurse practitioners to the roster of medical professionals allowed to draw blood without a physician present.

Clinical lab technicians, phlebotomists and medical lab technicians can draw blood if requested by a police officer and if physicians, physician assistants or nurse practitioners supervise them, or if they have the consent of the adult they are taking blood from.

The move to change the law started eight years ago, when an advanced emergency medical technician drew blood from an alleged drunken driver and the blood-alcohol content was .15, nearly twice the legal limit of .08.  But the results of the blood test were thrown out in court because an EMT who wasn’t directly supervised by a physician had drawn the blood. The charges of vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated against the driver were dismissed.

Drunken drivers cause about 9,000 accidents, roughly 400 of which are fatal, in New York each year, according to the governor’s office.

(Source: WGRZ)