Blog

Trucking Accidents

• One Injured in Semi-Truck Accident on I-435 in Northland Kansas City

View All

Medicated drivers… large trucks… a recipe for disaster

America’s population is getting older. This trend is noticeable in the trucking industry. Older workers are enrolling in truck driving school after retiring from their former careers. In many trucking companies, more than 30 percent of the drivers are over the age of 50.

Unfortunately, more than 60 percent of working adults between the ages of 50 and 64 have a chronic medical condition that requires regular use of medication. Fifty-one percent of medications have serious side effects that may impair driving. A recent study looked at blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs because they are the prescription medications most often used by adults over the age of 50.

Side-effects of blood pressure medications:

• Slow heart beat
• Confusion
• Depression
• Low blood pressure
• Impotence
• Sleep disorders
• Drowsiness
• Light sensitivity
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Irritability
• Blurred Vision
• Heart failure
• Weakness

Side-effects of cholesterol medications

• Amnesia
• Suppression of immune system
• Liver damage
• Muscle destruction
• Tendonitis
• Cancer

While not all of these side-effects directly affect driving ability, patients often take more medications to counteract the side-effects and those medications may also impair driving ability. A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) study of large truck crashes found that prescription drug use is an associated factor in 28.7 percent of commercial truck accidents. Over-the-counter drug use was an associated factor in 19.4% of large truck wrecks.

While it is important that large truck companies do not discriminate based on age, it is also important that they screen out drivers who are taking potentially dangerous medications or who have health problems that could cause a danger to others. For example, last week, a Metro Bus driver in Webster Groves, Missouri suffered a diabetic reaction and drove into a tree. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Can you imagine if the driver was driving a load of flammable cargo down I-70 at rush hour?

If you have been seriously injured or have lost a loved one in a big rig crash caused by a medicated driver, contact the Kansas City accident attorneys at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys. You have legal rights and we are here to protect them. When you call our office at 888-348-2616, be sure to request our free guide, “10 Essential Steps You Must Take to Protect Your Injury Claim.”

Just Ask

Free Consumer Guides

Testimonials

• I’m highly satisfied, I would call Victor again. I needed his help, and he has been a great attorney. I’m very comfortable recommending victor to other clients. Now that I’m happy with how much he’s helped me, I’m definitely recommending him to anyone that needed his help.
• Heather was very nice and polite and very informative. Heather was very responsive when I asked her questions and very informative. Yes, she was very aggressive with the insurance company. She was very aggressive trying to get a higher amount. Yes she was very nice. She is very informative and knows what she is doing.
• It was great to work with Heather, she kept me informed about everything, the dos and the don’ts and what everything was and kept me on track. she was very professional she told you what was going on, she kept you a breast of everything that was going on, she was an excellent lawyer. Ms Heather and the whole staff at the Accident Injury firm, I would recommend them to anybody across the world, that they are excellent, honest attorneys.

View All

Latest News

• Posted on 1/19/2012Driver Injured when Semi-Truck Over Turns in North Kansas City
• Posted on 11/14/2011Missouri Family Awarded $7 million After Fatal Trucking Accident

View All

FAQs

Trucking Accidents

• How long do I have to file a Kansas City truck accident lawsuit in Kansas and when should I contact a Kansas City truck accident lawyer?
  

View All

Web Resources

• Trucking Accidents

more