Lying about sleep apnea?

The point of the waiver was to shift responsibility from the CDL examiner to the driver's Dr. If the driver's Dr. signs the waiver that it is his medical opinion that the driver does not have sleep apnea then the driver does not need to do a sleep study. But then the driver's Dr. is liable if that driver is involved in an accident that is proved to be caused by sleep apnea. I don't think any Dr. is going to sign such a document.

 

amtrack, you are between a rock and a hard lace. when faced with such circumstances, you gotta do what ya gotta do. truthfully, none of us can really tell ya which way to go.

i dont think its a felony to not disclose sleep apnea, its a felony after something happens. honestly many small companies dont even do sleep tests, will accept dot physicals you alreay, or accept one from a doctor of your choice.

it has been proven that dental devices can do as much for sleep apnea as the machines in many cases, but they arent allowed. there isn't as much money in a simple dental device as a machine. i myself havent heard of anyone that goes off for a sleep study that passed and didnt have sleep apnea.

 

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[TD]97.
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[TD]What happens if a driver is not truthful about his/her health history on the medical examination form?
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[TD]The FMCSA medical certification process is designed to ensure drivers are physically qualified to operate commercial vehicles safely. Each driver is required to complete the Health History section on the first page of the examination report and certify that the responses are complete and true. The driver must also certify that he/she understands that inaccurate, false or misleading information may invalidate the examination and medical examiner's certificate.
FMCSA relies on the medical examiner's clinical judgment to decide whether additional information should be obtained from the driver's treating physician. Deliberate omission or falsification of information may invalidate the examination and any certificate issued based on it. A civil penalty may also be levied against the driver under 49 U.S.C. 521(b)(2)(b), either for making a false statement of for concealing a disqualifying condition.
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http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/medical/faqs.aspx#question97

 

That's like saying it's not a felony to rob a bank, it is only a felony to get caught.

It is ether not illegal to fail to disclose the information or it is not, the result makes no difference.

 

Right now I'm retired and haven't driven in 17 months so I think my information on sleep apnea is 2 1/2 maybe 3 years old. JB Hunt sent me to the clinic they use in Chicago. My neck is larger than 17 and the Dr. lied about my BMI being just over 34. JB Hunt was using this DOT guideline (I still don't think it is a regulation) to help shield them from litigation. They seemed to push this hard after a veteran company driver coming off home time was involved in a crash with a stopped school bus causing fatalities. He was on a road he traveled many times, dry roads, clear sky and under the posted speed limit. Maybe. sleep apnea? It is a recognized medical condition

 

First off you can't fail the sleep study, it is a study, not a test. IF the tell him to sleep on his back, he should have told them he sleeps naturally on his side and do so. I'm a big guy too and go through this every 2 years per my doctor's treatment and been told the same thing but the doc who is treating me is a specialist, she says the test is to watch you sleep as if you were at home. Had a DOT doctor argue with me that I needed to be tested once a year and I told him neither the guidelines nor the regulations mention a annual study, and then told him that he is a GP not a specialist and I see a specialist which trumps his opinion. My doc backed me up by berating him on the phone about questioning her treatment plan and that was it. I think it was so stupid with the FMCSA to move to certify doctors for these exams, it defeats the purpose for proper monitoring and care let alone judgement of someone's ability to drive.

I would have informed the doctor that medical records are property of the patient and because he has an obligation to show him the records, he wants to see them. Making a copy can be expensive but most states will back the disclosure to the patient of their medical records. IF the doc refuses, go to the state AG and ask them what to do.

OK here is the thing, if they did a sleep study on him, they already determined what pressure setting the cpap machine is supposed to be at. First I would have your doctor write a script for the cpap machine for that pressure setting (this is very important) and another separate script for the tubing, mask and other items. I would look around for a use machine or contact some of the medical supply places (Binsens is one) to see what the have in late model referbs. When you find one, use the script and ONLY get one with a smart card and don't forget the humidifier setup. You can hunt around for tubing and masks - maybe spending less than $200 for all of it. Completely legal and DOT compliant by the way. I have three machines, one for the house, one for the truck which is set up for just the truck and the lase one is a backup - I dropped my original one and it went splat in the parking lot so I always have a backup somewhere.

Just a personal note, I have bad sleep apnea, I wish it was 37 times but it is a lot worse. I use my cpap all the time when I sleep and if it is not use, I can't sleep. Been using it for 12 years now and happy I have it.

I would be up front with all of it, I would not hold back about anything so you cover your butt if something does go wrong with the company.

Been there which is how I ended up scavenging my own equipment for 5 years - also paid all of my doctor visits and scripts out of pocket. I would not expect them to accept the doc's note but rather see the doc come up with a treatment plan, goals and so on to mitigate the issue with the carrier.

I would be up front with them right from the start, don't lie and use my advice to get setup.

They will find out, the stupid and unproven BMI chart is the problem it is the DOT docs who can't really determine the status of the driver with a superficial exam and little medical history that is the real problem.

I wouldn't get another study, if his doctor can get the results and see the pressure settings, she can write the scripts for the device and supplies.

By the way, you may be able to get set up by asking some charity to fund it - another suggestion. Get the scripts and go from there. Another thing is many people stock pile supplies and can provide things like tubing and such, maybe even a machine.

again be truthful because all of it will catch up to you guys and may cause another door to shut for you.

Hope this helps.

By the way, HIPAA has the requirement for disclosure of medical records to the patient BUT for everyone to understand HIPAA does not cover us when we take a DOT medical exam - the carrier, the DOT and state regulators are exempt from HIPAA.

 

I think what the problem here is is that the driver may not actually have any relevant medical issues. For somebody who is used to sleeping on their side or on their stomach, they are going to be at a huge disadvantage during any sleep study where they are forced to try sleeping on their back. Many of these "sleep study" facilities also have ulterior motives. They stand to make a significant amount of money if a large segment of the population are required to use their service. So they hype a relatively minor problem to make it seem like a huge deal...get everybody talking about it. Then, since everybody is talking about it, they pressure congress to do something about it. In order to back up all of the talk, they have to show that the problem really exists, so they convince these mega-fleets (with a steady stream of new butts to warm their seats) to play along. These mega-fleets start sending overweight drivers to these crooked sleep study facilities, and of course they diagnose a large percentage of those drivers with sleep issues...since apnea is the buzz word of the day, that's what they call it. ("Sleep Apnea" sounds worse than "He didn't sleep in the position we felt he ought to be sleeping in"). So now this driver who has NEVER had any issues sleeping or any symptoms of sleep apnea has to buy this unnecessary machine (likely from the same sleep study center which fraudulently diagnosed the driver) and prove that he's using it in order to receive his medical card. The government is in on it, too, because they've got their new "medical devise tax" that is added onto the cost of one of those machines, too. EVERYBODY wins....except for the driver, who has now been wrongly diagnosed with a condition he doesn't have so that some sleep study centers can make a bunch of money and the 1-800-sue-a-trucker lawyers can have another issue to look into in order to get their clients (who probably caused the wreck to begin with) a huge settlement from those evil truck companies.

Personally, if my own doctor had looked into the "sleep study" and found problems with it, and I experienced no symptoms of sleep apnea, then I wouldn't disclose a condition I don't actually have. That would be lying to falsely claim that I did have it.