Cook v. Town of Nassau

On these appeals, here by our leave, we are asked to determine whether evidence of the alcoholic content of the blood of the deceased operator of a motorcycle, obtained during an autopsy shortly after death, was admissible in negligence actions against the town.

Subdivision 3 (par. [b]) of section 674 of the County Law provides that blood and urine tests shall be ordered by the coroner to determine alcoholic content where the deceased was operating a motor vehicle at the time of his death. The last sentence of that subdivision bars the use of the test results for evidentiary purposes “ in any…