Hello again, I wanted to know if anyone has ever had an auto accident that a lawyer used Ataxia to their advantage against you. I do not mean to pry but wanted to know as this might be a blockade to me driving.
Thanks
My wife has ataxia, diagnosed in 1999. Shortly after her diagnosis, her neurologist wrote her a letter which she kept in the glove box in the car. It basically said she had this disease which might make her appear impaired, especially if she had to do any sobriety tests. As ataxia progresses, it certainly will impair your driving abilities so I would bet a lawyer could use that against you when it came to who was at fault in an accident. By the way, my wife stopped driving in 2002 because her distance and spacial judgement was slipping.
dick48 said:
My wife has ataxia, diagnosed in 1999. Shortly after her diagnosis, her neurologist wrote her a letter which she kept in the glove box in the car. It basically said she had this disease which might make her appear impaired, especially if she had to do any sobriety tests. As ataxia progresses, it certainly will impair your driving abilities so I would bet a lawyer could use that against you when it came to who was at fault in an accident. By the way, my wife stopped driving in 2002 because her distance and spacial judgement was slipping.
Hello,
in response to your query, I had a road traffic accident a year ago which was completely not my fault. I was ploughed into by a drunk driver who came out of a side road without stopping. He wrote my lovely car off and I was given very small compensation as the lawyer said I had an underlying condition! So beware, it really can go against you.
Adnyl
I don’t need to be law suit to incurage me to stop driving. I know it would not be safe so I don’t take that chance.
I had to give up my class “b” so it also meant giving up my job.
I have heard of people w ataxia say they got into an accident because of their disorder.
I have had a car accident, it is with lawyers and yesterday in fact had my last assessment done as I was injured.
I was not at fault and the issue of me being the driver has never arisen, and both parties have my full medical details. However, I have asked my neurologist if I am OK to drive and he said yes, and that he would fill in the paper work. I am in Australia.
My advice would be to check specifically with your neurologist about driving and then get him/her to fill in any appropriate paper work. Yes a bit fiddly, but you will feel better on the road and if you have the unfortunate position to be in an accident the issue of whether or not you should be driving is more clear.
I'm sorry to hear that Adnyl, my lawyers are not treating my case like this at all. My car was written off and the insurance I had paid the premium, but I received other injuries, and while my previous health has been taken into account, all of my medicals have been paid and they are now assessing 'pain and suffering'.
adnyl said:
Hello,
in response to your query, I had a road traffic accident a year ago which was completely not my fault. I was ploughed into by a drunk driver who came out of a side road without stopping. He wrote my lovely car off and I was given very small compensation as the lawyer said I had an underlying condition! So beware, it really can go against you.
Adnyl
I was personally told Not to drive anymore. Now I can move a car in the driveway, but I can not stay in my lane when I drive plus anxiaty. So I haven't driven since sept. 2013.
My neurologist said I should stop driving about 5 years ago. My advice is to ask and do as told.
In my opinion (I’m not a lawyer), you would be sunk if you had an accident and there was something in your records saying you were told not to drive.
So ask if you are afraid there is a problem but be ready for the consequences! Once lost you will NEVER get it back. Life without the ability to drive is challenging unless you live in a place with good public transportation. So don’t rush it!
I made the decision myself not to drive anymore. I had a couple instances where I could not find the brake when transferring my foot from the gas pedal to the brake. My neurologist never said I couldn't drive but said if I did, I would probably have an accident someday. I couldn't take the chance of hurting myself or someone else.
I simply stopped driving when I had a minor accident with my children in the car. They were very small then and all I could think of is that they could have been injured. I thought I, my family and every body would be a lot safer if I didn't drive.