Neurological Conditions and Car Accident Risks

TYLER and LONGVIEW, Texas. According to the Journal of Clinical Medicine and Research, driving is a highly complex task that requires higher level cognitive function as well as a reasonable degree of motor function. When patients are ill and suffer from degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, dementia, Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, stroke, or peripheral neuropathy, doctors often have to make tough decisions about whether their patients are fit to get behind the wheel. It is a highly fraught decision because the loss of the ability to drive often means the loss of independence for many patients.

What makes the situation even more complex is that the federal government and many states don’t set basic guidelines about what constitutes a safe driver. What threshold of ability must a patient have in order to drive? What threshold of disability puts a driver at risk of harming themselves or others behind the wheel? Every doctor has to make his or her own call. Patients sometimes make the call themselves, when their abilities decline, or families help patients make those decisions.

However, some individuals choose to continue to drive, even after doctors tell them it is no longer safe to do so. In New York City, in a tragic accident, a woman with multiple sclerosis struck two mothers and their two young children in Park Slope. The two children were killed and one of the pregnant mothers who was struck had a miscarriage. The New York Times reports that the driver of the vehicle was prone to suffering from seizures and her doctors had warned her not to get behind the wheel of the vehicle. When drivers ignore doctor’s orders, the consequences can be tragic.

When doctors fail to make a sound diagnosis and advise their ill patients properly, they can leave dangerous drivers on the road who can pose a risk to themselves or others.

According to the Journal of Clinical Medicine and Research, physicians need more information to make better diagnostic decisions for their patients. For example, doctors need adequate information about their patient’s functioning. Furthermore, doctors need clear guidelines of basic functioning required for safe driving. States and the federal government can do a great deal to help clarify these standards for doctors.

Were you involved in an accident in which another driver was seriously ill or suffering from a neurological condition? It can sometimes be difficult at the scene of the accident to know whether a driver’s doctor asked them to stop driving. This is where a qualified car accident lawyer like the Cooper Law Firm in Tyler or Longview, Texas can help. Our firm can investigate your case and discover whether the other driver was fit to be on the road. If a person was told to avoid driving and did so anyway, you and your family may be entitled to receive a recovery under the law for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages. Visit our firm at https://www.cooper-law-firm.com/ to learn more.

Cooper Law Firm
501 N Third St,
Longview, TX 75601
Telephone: (903) 297-0037