Maffei v. Com., Dept. of Transp.
| Decision Date | 22 July 1980 |
| Citation | 53 Pa.Cmwlth. 182,416 A.2d 1167 |
| Parties | Louis John MAFFEI, III, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Appellee. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court |
Francis P. Burns, Pittston, for appellant.
Virginia Sirotnak, Scranton, Harold H. Cramer, Asst. Atty. Gen., Ward T. Williams, Chief Counsel, Harrisburg, for appellee.
Before MENCER, ROGERS and CRAIG, JJ.
Louis Maffei seeks review of an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County dismissing his appeal from the Secretary of Transportation's suspension of his driver's license under Section 1547 of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547, on the ground that Maffei refused to submit to a blood test.
Maffei was one of the drivers involved in a three-car accident. Officer Goodwin testified that, at the scene of the accident, he observed Maffei behaving in a loud and boisterous manner, in what seemed to the officer to be an intoxicated condition. At the hospital, where the injured Maffei was being treated in the emergency room, the officer placed him under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol.
At the officer's request, Maffei agreed to submit to a blood test.
According to the officer's testimony, thereafter the technician who was to administer the blood test read to Maffei a hospital form which included a statement providing in substance that soap and water, not alcohol, would be used to cleanse the area from which the blood sample would be drawn.
However, on direct examination Maffei's testimony was that:
Not only is there no evidence contradicting Maffei's testimony that the form was a release from liability, but the officer also agreed that the form was a "waiver of rights" or a "waiver of negligence" or a "consent to hold the hospital harmless" or a "release." Although neither party has seen fit to include the form in the record, the testimony on both sides has confirmed its nature as a release.
Moreover, the officer acknowledged that it was "correct" that the lab technician "wanted him (Maffei) to sign the release before anything was done" before the blood test was given.
The trial court determined that Maffei had refused the blood test and that all of the requirements for sustaining a license suspension had been met. See Department of Transportation, Bureau of Traffic Safety v. Drugotch, 9 Pa.Cmwlth. 460, 308 A.2d 183 (1973). The trial court's decision in a license suspension is not to be disturbed unless its findings are not supported by competent evidence or it made erroneous conclusions of law or its decision exhibits a manifest abuse of discretion. McMahon v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 39 Pa.Cmwlth. 260, 395 A.2d 318 (1978).
Here the Commonwealth's own evidence has established that the blood test was tied to execution of the liability release. Hence,...
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Zerbe v. Com.
...this conclusion, the Court reviewed numerous Commonwealth Court cases in this area, beginning with Maffei v. Department of Transportation, 53 Pa.Cmwlth. 182, 416 A.2d 1167 (1980) (holding refusal to sign hospital waiver of liability form is not a refusal under section 1547), and divided the......
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Stack v. Com., Dept. of Transp.
...not occur when a motorist agrees to submit to testing but refuses to sign a hospital waiver form. Maffei v. Department of Transportation, 53 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 182, 416 A.2d 1167 (1980). However, where a motorist is unwilling to submit to chemical testing, the fact that the defendant refus......
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Village of Lincolnshire v. Follensbee
...in addition to that of the actual test is not a refusal to take such a test); Maffei v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 53 Pa. Cmwlth. 182, 416 A.2d 1167 (1980). In Maffei, the defendant was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Pursuant to the offi......
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Administrative hearings
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