Black-letter propositions
- 01
Subsequent remedial measures cannot prove negligence, culpability, defect, or need for warning, but may prove ownership, control, feasibility if disputed, or legitimate impeachment.
- 02
Compromise offers and statements during disputed-claim negotiations cannot prove liability or amount but may show bias, obstruction, or another permitted purpose.
- 03
Offers to pay medical expenses cannot prove liability, but accompanying factual admissions are not protected by that rule alone.
- 04
Withdrawn guilty pleas, nolo pleas, and protected plea discussions are generally excluded against the defendant.
- 05
Liability insurance cannot prove negligence or wrongful conduct but may show ownership, control, or witness bias.
Use this attack sequence under time
Frame the issue
Identify exact conduct and timing.
Resolve the next checkpoint
Was there a disputed claim?
Resolve the next checkpoint
State the offered purpose.
Resolve the next checkpoint
Test a genuine alternative use and Rule 403.
Finish the conclusion
Separate offers from factual admissions.
Common wrong turns
- The word settlement does not control before a dispute exists.
- Third-party repairs may fall outside the remedial-measure rule.
- Impeachment cannot be a pretext for a forbidden inference.
Worked example
After a crash, a driver says, 'I ran the light; I will pay your hospital bill.'
The payment offer is excluded to prove liability, but the separate admission that the driver ran the light is not protected by the medical-payment rule.
Practice this topic
What each rule excludes
Rule 407 says evidence of measures taken after an injury that would have made it less likely is not admissible to prove negligence, culpable conduct, a product defect or design defect, or a need for a warning. It may be admitted for another purpose, such as impeachment or, if disputed, ownership, control or feasibility of precautionary measures. Rule 409 bars evidence of furnishing or offering to pay medical or similar expenses to prove liability.
Rule 408 bars evidence of offering or accepting consideration in compromising a disputed claim, and of conduct or statements in compromise negotiations, to prove or disprove the validity or amount of a disputed claim or to impeach. It has an exception for criminal cases involving a public office's regulatory or enforcement claim.
Pleas and insurance
Rule 410 makes a withdrawn guilty plea, a nolo contendere plea and related statements inadmissible against the defendant who made them. Rule 411 says evidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible to prove negligence or other wrongful conduct, though it may be admitted for another purpose such as bias, agency, ownership or control.
Frequently asked questions
What is the controlling rule for remedial measures, compromise, medical payments, pleas, and insurance?+
Policy exclusions turn on exact conduct, timing, dispute, and purpose; connected factual admissions require separate analysis.
How should I analyze remedial measures, compromise, medical payments, pleas, and insurance on the bar exam?+
Identify exact conduct and timing. Was there a disputed claim? State the offered purpose. Separate offers from factual admissions.
What does Rule 407 exclude?+
Evidence of subsequent measures that would have made an earlier injury less likely, when offered to prove negligence, culpable conduct, a product or design defect, or a need for a warning.
Can subsequent remedial measures ever be admitted?+
Yes, for another purpose such as impeachment or, if disputed, proving ownership, control or the feasibility of precautionary measures, according to Rule 407.
What does Rule 408 cover?+
Offers or acceptance of consideration to compromise a disputed claim and statements made in compromise negotiations, when offered to prove or disprove the claim's validity or amount, or to impeach.
Are offers to pay medical expenses admissible to prove liability?+
No. Rule 409 says evidence of furnishing, promising or offering to pay medical, hospital or similar expenses is not admissible to prove liability for the injury.
Is evidence of liability insurance admissible?+
Not to prove negligence or wrongful conduct. Rule 411 allows it for another purpose, such as proving a witness's bias or prejudice, or agency, ownership or control.