Failed my DOT Physical

Name one doctor that has been dinged by any liability caused by a dot physical.

 

I know of one Physician that was deposed back in a Georgia case many years ago. I think the carrier and/or their insurance carrier "settled" and there was no actual court.





I have spoken to several Attorneys about this over the last few years. If a Physician is prescribing a medication legally AND the pharmacy properly labels said medication with the proper warnings, honestly they are not taking on much liability. A Physician is a medical professional and courts are always going to lean toward taking this into consideration. A plaintiff's Attorney had better have their own Physician ready to challenge this Physician in court. Folks, successfully taking a Physician to court and winning a judgment is not that easy. Most Attorneys are going to go after the carrier/driver anyway. They are low hanging fruit.

While typing this out I was reminded of some of the discussions I had with my old Georgia Physician in Royston Georgia. He knew I was a trucker, every time he gave me a "script" one of the last things he told me as he gave it to me was "Mike, you should not be driving while taking this until you see how you tolerate it" This is how he was. My point? When a Physician prescribes something like Flexeril, the pharmacy is going to place warnings labels on the medication. I am retired of course, but I take two anti-seizure medications. BOTH have warning labels on them warning about dizziness and drowsiness. I take Chlorzoxazone today in place of Flexeril. Some of you might better remember this as Parafon Forte, I think every Air Force doc prescribed that. It also has that warning. It's ON YOU the driver if you take ANY medication and don't follow the prescribing instructions and fail to follow those warning labels, and a serious accident happens.

 

The OP expressly described the effects Flexeril has upon him. No way anyone should be operating a motor vehicle of any kind with those conditions.

 

There you go! Now you are on the right track.

 

You did the right thing. You do not want to lie about prescription drugs on your DOT Physical long form. When it comes time to go to a company sponsored school, or go to work for a company, they will require a copy of that long form. Make sure you have information, in writing from the doctor that treated you for your injuries, that you have recovered well, and those injuries will NOT affect your ability to safely operate a Commercial Motor Vehicle. Most companies, including Swift, will not take you on if you have any current injuries or ongoing treatment from those injuries. They have another 100 people in line that do not have that type of situation. BOTTOM LINE....Have a signed document from your Doctor that states that you HAVE RECOVERED FROM THE INJURIES YOU SUSTAINED IN THE CAR ACCIDENT AND NO FURTHER TREATMENT IS NECESSARY! Also, you have NO PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS. Do not let the Doctor say you are cleared to return to work, but can not lift more than 25 pounds above your chest or some such thing. Remember......You are FULLY RECOVERED. Good luck!

 

Please read Dockbumpers post again and again. You will have a difficult time getting hired.

 

If you have not recovered, then most reputable companies will not touch you with a 10 foot pole. You are too much of a liability. 2 weeks in you may file a WC Claim against them. Like I said.....they have 100's of other people without that "baggage" ready to go.