Georgia Injury Lawyers Blog

CMV Litigation: The Medical Examination

November 17, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

Pertinent Case Law

The majority of cases deal with employer-employee disputes over the Americans with Disabilities Act, civil rights, and related issues. However, a number of courts have addressed the medical exam and related physical qualification issues in the context of a personal injury action. CMV litigation It comes as no surprise that a motor carrier’s failure to properly qualify a driver, who then suffers some physical problem and causes an accident, may be liable for that breach.

Lewis v. City of Shreveport

CMV Litigation: The Driver’s Medical Examination

November 13, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

The Driver’s Medical Examination

After specifying the criteria a driver must satisfy to physically operate a CMV, the regulations set forth the requirements applicable to medical examiners and the examinations themselves. Medical examinations must be conducted by a certified medical examiner who possesses knowledge of the “specific physical and mental demands” of operating a commercial motor vehicle. This includes knowledge of the aforementioned physical qualification requirements.

The regulations further provide a very specific set of instructions and criteria for administering the exam, along with a detailed form that is to be completed. These are some of the important details of each component of the examination:

CMV Litigation: Physical Requirements Of A Driver

November 11, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

Observations

Due to the physical requirements imposed by the regulations, the health of a commercial motor vehicle driver may be an issue in certain cases. However, counsel will almost always be required to present some foundational evidence or otherwise show reasonable suspicion of a physical problem to develop the issue during litigation. The motor carrier is responsible for making certain that only medically qualified drivers operate its commercial motor vehicles. Religious beliefs are unlikely to avoid these safety function regulations.

Medical Conditions And “Likely To Interfere”

CMV Drivers: Driver Physical Qualifications

November 9, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

Overview

Like airline pilots, drivers of commercial motor vehicles are subject to fairly rigorous physical health requirements. However, if you spend half an hour at any truck stop you are likely to find drivers who are obviously not physically fit. The lifestyle of the over-the-road trucker is not a healthy one. It is inherently sedentary. Obesity is frequently a problem. Truckers also tend to be heavy cigarette smokers and beer drinking is not unknown in the profession.

In order to legally operate a CMV, a driver must pass a physical examination and be issued a “Medical Examiner’s Certificate” by an examiner qualified under the regulations. The failure to possess a current Certificate may indicate some physical problem that should have prevented the driver from operating a CMV. The paperwork describing the exam, which is frequently made part of the DQ file, may give insight into the driver’s physical health that is not otherwise readily obtainable.

CMV Litigation: The Road Test Case Law

November 6, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

Pertinent Case Law

Case law addressing the road test requirement primarily falls into two categories:

cases where the giving or failure to give a road test is relevant in determining whether a driver was an employee for purposes of workers compensation coverage

CMV Litigation: The Road Test “Equivalent”

November 3, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

The Road Test “Equivalent”

If a driver is already in possession of a valid CDL issued by a State which requires a road test in the type of vehicle the motor carrier intends to assign, this may be accepted as the equivalent of a road test. The Road Test “Equivalent”The motor carrier may also accept a copy of a valid certificate of a driver’s road test issued within the past three years.

Observations

Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers: The Road Test

October 30, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

Overview

A road test, or its equivalent, is required before a motor carrier can allow a driver to operate one of its commercial motor vehicles. This most fundamental of the road test requirements, which seek to determine whether the candidate is able to perform basic operations and maneuvers in a commercial vehicle, may well be overlooked, especially by smaller motor carriers.

Road Test Requirements

Commercial Drivers: The Background Check

October 27, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

The Background Investigation

The regulations mandate that a detailed background check be conducted on any prospective driver. The requirements are quite rigorous, but also quite often not followed properly. A breakdown at this step is often an indicator that a motor carrier has a poorly-functioning safety department. In reviewing documentation of this step in the DQ process, it is important to know whether the required follow-up actions were taken and appropriately recorded. This can be very important where, for example, alcohol or drugs are believed to have been a factor in a wreck. If the motor carrier did not obtain drug and alcohol testing information from an applicant’s prior employers, that is significant evidence of a lax attitude towards safety.

Required Background Investigations and Inquiries

CMV Drivers: The Driver Application

October 26, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

The Driver Application

The first real step in the qualification process is the completion of an employment application that complies with the regulations. The application must be signed by the applicant and contain specific information. A motor carrier is free to require more information on its application than that called for under the regulations, but not less.

Employment Application Requirements

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver: Overview

October 23, 2015 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

CMV Overview

While a great deal of the FMCSRs concern the motor carrier itself, the rules governing driver qualification, monitoring, and testing are also extensive. These regulations come into play before the driver candidate ever takes the wheel. At the employment application stage, a driver candidate must assist his prospective motor carrier employer with the information-gathering involved in the screening process, consent to the disclosure of drug and alcohol testing records, and otherwise prove themselves to be “road-worthy.”

Even after successfully gaining employment, the job description of a commercial motor vehicle (“CMV”) driver imposes yet more duties. Many of these duties must be fulfilled jointly by both the driver and the motor carrier. For example, drivers are required to carefully document their hours spent operating a CMV, and their employing motor carriers must monitor and enforce such “hours of service” rules. The regulations also impose other operational duties on drivers, such as required vehicle inspections, which, when not followed, can lead to tragedy. Unfortunately, history shows that all too often drivers and motor carriers fail to comply with the regulations to the letter, and tragedy is indeed an all too frequent result.