Va. Code » Title 16.1. Courts Not of Record » Chapter 11. Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts » Article 3. Jurisdiction and Venue
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 16.1-245.1 (2026)

Medical evidence admissible in juvenile and domestic relations district court

✓ laws through the 2026 session (checked Sept. 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

In any civil case heard in a juvenile and domestic relations district court involving allegations of child abuse or neglect or family abuse, any party may present evidence, by a report from the treating or examining health care provider as defined in § 8.01-581.1 or the records of a hospital, medical facility or laboratory at which the treatment, examination or laboratory analysis was performed, or both, as to the extent, nature, and treatment of any physical condition or injury suffered by a person and the examination of the person or the result of the laboratory analysis.

A medical report shall be admitted if the party intending to present such evidence at trial or hearing gives the opposing party or parties a copy of the evidence and written notice of intention to present it at least 10 days, or in the case of a preliminary removal hearing under § 16.1-252 or in preliminary protective order hearings under § 16.1-253 or 16.1-253.1 at least 24 hours, prior to the trial or hearing and if attached to such evidence is a sworn statement of the treating or examining health care provider or laboratory analyst who made the report that (i) the information contained therein is true, accurate, and fully describes the nature and extent of the physical condition or injury and (ii) the patient named therein was the person treated or examined by such health care provider; or, in the case of a laboratory analysis, that the information contained therein is true and accurate.

A hospital or other medical facility record shall be admitted if attached to it is a sworn statement of the custodian thereof that the same is a true and accurate copy of the record of such hospital or other medical facility. If thereafter a party summons the health care provider or custodian making such statement to testify in proper person or by deposition taken de bene esse, the court shall determine which party shall pay the fees and costs for such appearance or depositions, or may apportion the same among the parties in such proportion as the ends of justice may require. If such health care provider or custodian is not subject to subpoena for cross-examination in court or by a deposition de bene esse, then the court shall allow a reasonable opportunity for the party seeking the subpoena for such health care provider or custodian to obtain his testimony as the ends of justice may require.

1990, c. 560; 1996, c. 866; 2000, c. 163; 2019, c. 716.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1999–2023 · leading case: Anita Shana-Nicole Simms v. Alexandria Dep't of Cmty. & Human Servs., No. 1852174 (Va. Ct. App. Apr. 24, 2018).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Anita Shana-Nicole Simms v. Alexandria Dep't of Cmty. & Human Servs., No. 1852174 (Va. Ct. App. Apr. 24, 2018). · cites it 12× “Mother argues that the circuit court erred by “admitting into evidence a hearsay document, [mother’s] Parental Capacity Assessment, by relying on Virginia Code § 16.1-245.1, a code section that only applies to proceedings in the juvenile court.”
Russell Clinton Smith, Jr. v. Alexandria Dep't of Cmty. & Human Servs., No. 0894224 (Va. Ct. App. June 27, 2023). · cites it 4× “With respect to the parental capacity assessments, father conceded that Code § 16.1-245.1 addressed the admissibility of medical records in JDR courts but argued the statute did not apply to circuit courts.”
Doneice Redd v. Loudoun Cnty. Dep't of Fam. Servs., No. 1991134 (Va. Ct. App. Apr. 29, 2014). · cites it 5× “3 He was convicted of a crime that would prevent him from being a foster parent.”
Doneice Redd v. Loudoun Cnty. Dep't of Fam. Servs., No. 1915134 (Va. Ct. App. Apr. 29, 2014). · cites it 5× “3 He was convicted of a crime that would prevent him from being a foster parent.”
Kathleen Padilla v. Norfolk Div. of Soc. Svs, No. 1388981 (Va. Ct. App. Jan. 26, 1999). · cites it 2× “Code § 16.1-245.1 allowed the introduction of the report in the juvenile court proceeding.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.