A graphic, numerical, symbolic or pictorial representation of the results of a medical or diagnostic procedure or test is admissible in evidence provided:
R 4532-a.Admissibility of graphic, numerical, symbolic or pictorial representations of medical or diagnostic tests
Article 45. Evidence · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 4532-a admits graphic, numerical, symbolic, or pictorial representations of medical or diagnostic tests into evidence once they carry the patient's name, testing date, and standard identifying information, and either the opposing party already received or examined the exhibit or received advance notice with a supporting physician affidavit.
Full Text of CPLR 4532-a
(1) the name of the injured party, the date when the information constituting the graphic, numerical, symbolic or pictorial representation was taken, and such additional identifying information as is customarily inscribed by the medical practitioner or medical facility is inserted on such graphic, numerical, symbolic or pictorial representation; and
(a) the representation has been previously received or examined by the party or parties against whom it is being offered; or
(b)
(i) at least ten days before the date of trial of the action, the party intending to offer such graphic, numerical, symbolic or pictorial representation as a proposed exhibit serves upon the party or parties against whom said proposed exhibit is to be offered, a notice of intention to offer such proposed exhibit in evidence during the trial and that the same is available for inspection; and
(ii) the notice aforesaid is accompanied by an affidavit or affirmation of such physician identifying such graphic, numerical, symbolic or pictorial representation and attesting to the identifying information inscribed thereon, attesting that the identifying information inscribed thereon is the same as is customarily inscribed by the medical practitioner or facility, and further attesting that, if called as a witness in the action, he or she would so testify. Nothing contained in this rule, however, shall prohibit the admissibility of a graphic, numerical, symbolic or pictorial representation in evidence where otherwise admissible.
Plain-English Summary
Medical litigation runs on printouts that do not look like conventional documents: EKG strips, imaging readouts, lab graphs, and similar records generated by diagnostic equipment. Getting one of these into evidence used to mean calling the treating physician or technician to authenticate it. CPLR 4532-a creates a more direct path.
First, the exhibit itself has to carry identifying information: the injured party's name, the date the test data was recorded, and whatever additional identifying detail a medical practitioner or facility customarily inscribes on that kind of exhibit.
Second, the party offering it needs one of two things. Either the opposing party has already received or examined the exhibit, which covers the common situation where records were exchanged in discovery, or the offering party gives at least ten days' notice before trial that the exhibit will be offered and is available for inspection, paired with a physician's affidavit or affirmation identifying the exhibit, confirming the identifying information matches what that practitioner or facility customarily inscribes, and stating the physician would testify to that if called.
The rule closes with a reminder that it adds a path to admissibility, it does not take one away: nothing in it stops a party from getting a graphic, numerical, symbolic, or pictorial representation admitted through some other route that already makes it admissible.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of medical evidence does CPLR 4532-a cover?
Graphic, numerical, symbolic, or pictorial representations of the results of a medical or diagnostic procedure or test, such as EKG strips, imaging readouts, or similar diagnostic printouts.
What identifying information has to appear on the exhibit itself?
The injured party's name, the date the represented information was taken, and any additional identifying information customarily inscribed by the medical practitioner or facility.
Do I need a physician to testify to admit this kind of medical exhibit?
Not if the opposing party already received or examined it, or if you gave at least ten days' notice before trial along with a supporting physician affidavit or affirmation as the statute describes.
What must the physician's affidavit say under CPLR 4532-a?
It must identify the exhibit, attest that the identifying information inscribed on it matches what the practitioner or facility customarily inscribes, and state that the physician would testify to that if called as a witness.
How much notice does CPLR 4532-a require before trial?
At least ten days before the trial date, along with the accompanying physician affidavit and an offer to make the exhibit available for inspection.
Does CPLR 4532-a block other ways of admitting the same medical exhibit?
No. The statute says nothing in it prohibits admitting the representation in evidence where it is otherwise admissible through another route.
Advisory Committee Notes
The Committee recommends the amendment of CPLR 4532-a governing the admissibility of a range of medical diagnostic tests, such as magnetic resonance images (“MRI’s”) and positron emission tomographs (“PET scans”), to broaden the terms used for such tests to avoid having to amend this provision each time a new test is developed.
Personal injury practitioners alerted the Committee to the ongoing problem of needing to amend CPLR 4532-a each time a new diagnostic test is developed. The Committee therefore undertook to make the statute more generic by eliminating the current use of technical terms and substituting the phrase “graphic or pictorial representations of medical or diagnostic tests” where appropriate. The Committee also made several other additional changes to make the language more readable.
Amendment History
Add, L 1970, ch 772, § 1; amd, L 1979, ch 124, § 1; L 1993, ch 482, § 1, eff July 26, 1993; L 2001, ch 392, § 1, eff Jan 1, 2002; L 2004, ch 375, § 1, eff Jan 1, 2005.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: EKG strip admissible evidence New Yorkmedical test printout evidence rulediagnostic test exhibit notice trialphysician affidavit medical exhibit New York