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Is sleep apnea responsible for your personal injury?

On Behalf of | Apr 13, 2018 | Personal Injury

Every day, Ohio residents wake up and leave the safety of their homes to go to work or school, run errands or participate in a number of activities. They do this with the hope that, at the end of the day, they will return home safely. Unfortunately, there are those who will and have found themselves involved in accidents with commercial vehicles, leaving them with significant personal injury that cause damages both economic and non-economic in nature. 

Truck accidents happen every day. When they do, authorities will look at every possible cause. The one common cause that will be addressed today is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is disordered breathing while one sleeps. Numerous truck drivers have this.

If a person has sleep apnea, he or she will literally stop or struggle to breathe up to hundreds of times during the night. This will cause him or her to fail to achieve restful sleep and result in him or her experiencing oxygen deprivation. This can leave the sleep apnea sufferer very tired during the day, unfocused and a danger behind the wheel. 

Federal regulations require commercial drivers to keep themselves medically fit if they wish to keep their driver’s licenses. This does not mean that individuals with health problems cannot be truck drivers. It just means that they have to be treated for the disorders they have if they wish to keep their jobs. If a commercial driver’s license holder causes a collision while on the job because he or she is driving with untreated sleep apnea, he or she and his or her employer may be held legally accountable for the personal injury suffered by the victims. Ohio residents involved in such incidents may turn to legal counsel who will be able to help them fight for fair and full compensation. 

Source: fmcsa.dot.gov, “Driving When You Have Sleep Apnea“, Accessed on April 6, 2018

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