Accident + Injury secondary disability due to medication intake

[tk3000]

Hello Folks,

I read in the the past in books or other sources, and it seems that there are fully developed cases and claims within the VA whereby the intake of medication (opioids/pain killers in particular) can supposedly play a substantial roles in an accident with a subsequent injury and disability. While it is true that the medication's prescription warns about such impairment one can not stop living a life or perform basic and necessary tasks (for what there is no substitute) due to such medications.  

It seems reasonable that whether one is riding a motorbike or operating a machinery and  then is victimized by a debilitating accident for which one could argued that the intake of pain killers played a substantial role in the  precipitation or occurrence of the accident, that then one could claim that the injury and disability caused by aforementioned accident shall be service connected as well.  

There are many questions   afloat from this argument, mainly questions of principles and cause/effect, for instance:  in these circumstances, while the burden of the proof lies with the veteran it would not be possible for the VA to prove beyond a reasonable doubt  the intake of medication did not play a role in the accident. 

Could anyone point me out to previous cases or scenarios of this nature, please?  How straightforward  or convoluted such cases can be?

 

Edited August 23, 2017 by tk3000

[pwrslm]

Playing devils advocate here.

When you got the meds, did they came with warnings telling you that you should not operate motor vehicles(?). Then if you did, that could be considered willful misconduct.  Pain Meds, muscle relaxants and anti anxiety drugs make a powerful cocktail combination that could impair your ability to drive...

If you file a claim for this, be aware that you must admit to this.  Talk to an experience Atty who deals w/VA, see what his feedback is. You might want to word your claim a specific way to protect yourself from something like this. If the burden of proof lands in your lap, it may not be possible to prove.

You also dont have the blood work to show that you were taking these med's as prescribed, if at all, when the accident occurred. Lots of times people abuse some of these. I am not accusing, but be aware that if you get the wrong RO, this is one hurdle that you might have to hop to get a claim like this approved.

[jfrei]

I was thinking the same thing what does the warning label on the side of the bottle say that it could or would definitely impair your judgement or risk of operating heavy machinery. As for the police report if they thought that was the cause then they would have to give you BAC to see the level of impairment...

Edited September 2, 2017 by jfrei

[tk3000]

4 hours ago, pwrslm said:

Playing devils advocate here.

When you got the meds, did they came with warnings telling you that you should not operate motor vehicles(?). Then if you did, that could be considered willful misconduct.  Pain Meds, muscle relaxants and anti anxiety drugs make a powerful cocktail combination that could impair your ability to drive...

If you file a claim for this, be aware that you must admit to this.  Talk to an experience Atty who deals w/VA, see what his feedback is. You might want to word your claim a specific way to protect yourself from something like this. If the burden of proof lands in your lap, it may not be possible to prove.

You also dont have the blood work to show that you were taking these med's as prescribed, if at all, when the accident occurred. Lots of times people abuse some of these. I am not accusing, but be aware that if you get the wrong RO, this is one hurdle that you might have to hop to get a claim like this approved.

That is a good point. I tried to address it at leas partially in my initial post.

The label  does not necessary says that one can not operate motor vehicles, it says that one has wait to assess the effects of the medication before operating motor vehicle and to be to be extra cautious. Its is nowhere as close to the effects of alcohol whereby there is a serious impairment. The impairment of medication can be stronger in a given moment depending on lots of factors (where reflexes and rapid decision and ideal balance are important for example), and there more subtleties to  the effects of these medications that can be difficult to assess in a given time. Besides most people needs to go on with their lives and the VA does provide a chauffeur for one to move around. A car would be safer though, but with the all the dysfunctionality of the VA and its policy of deny, deny, wait until one dies; I could not afford a car back then (specially going to school). On the other hand, walking long distances with pain can be very painful. All in all, I don't see this counter argument as being a strong one.

Edited September 2, 2017 by tk3000

[tk3000]

20 hours ago, jfrei said:

Obviously you were not driving wreckless and you'd know if they thought you were intoxicated by any means. Did they do a sobriety check walk a line hop on one foot or whatever? If not then they most likely didn't put DWI as the cause...just a guess not sure what you said caused the accident tired from the night before slow reaction time now I'm just guessing....

At first the office asked me if I was under the influence because I was disconnected from reality (did not make sense at first about what had just happened) and stuned but I was otherwise  coherent and he did the perform any test with me. 

I had some issue with the bike: throttle cable was not slightly accelerated. The weather was not idea. But none of these factors would solely cause the accident since I was used to ride the bike in much worse conditions.

 

[jfrei]

The report lists other factors causing the incident like your throttle cable ? The weather wasn't ideal what was it like? Were these factors listed on the report as possible causes? What's the warning label say on the side of the bottle? The combination of all the other factors could have been the cause of your accident and not willful misconduct which may or may not have even been a factor until you ask exactly what the report says. I'm speaking from first hand experience this is not a quick claim if they say it was willful misconduct then it's your burden to show why it wasn't or at least it was my burden to bare at the BVA. Where is your claim at at this moment sorry if I missed or skipped over that section? Honestly sounds it was your bikes fault 50 % or greater in their terminology but that has to come from an expert not by a disabled vet giving some help... 🛴Is this kinda of the bike you crashed? Do you need a bike license for this? A simple google search could help the ball rolling

Edited September 3, 2017 by jfrei

[tk3000]

On 9/3/2017 at 0:56 AM, jfrei said:

The report lists other factors causing the incident like your throttle cable ? The weather wasn't ideal what was it like? Were these factors listed on the report as possible causes? What's the warning label say on the side of the bottle? The combination of all the other factors could have been the cause of your accident and not willful misconduct which may or may not have even been a factor until you ask exactly what the report says. I'm speaking from first hand experience this is not a quick claim if they say it was willful misconduct then it's your burden to show why it wasn't or at least it was my burden to bare at the BVA. Where is your claim at at this moment sorry if I missed or skipped over that section? Honestly sounds it was your bikes fault 50 % or greater in their terminology but that has to come from an expert not by a disabled vet giving some help... 🛴Is this kinda of the bike you crashed? Do you need a bike license for this? A simple google search could help the ball rolling

Yeah, but as of now I do not have the report. The accident happened in Michigan, and I am in Central Ohio now. I plan on going back to MI this week, then I will stop by and see if I can get another copy of the report.

 

The weather was cold (slightly below freezing) but the roads were mostly clear. But I don't believe that these factors were listed in the report as possible causes. Anyhow, I believe that the report indicated that I was riding slowly, and did not indicate any foul play at play.

 

Yeah, I realize that it is not an easy case; and I don't expect to have it settled at the regional office level; and will go to the BVA as you did.

 

It was a small 50cc motorscooter with 12" wheels. It was an asian bike, not known here. I did not need a motorcycle endorsement in MI to ride this type of bike.

 

 I have an appeal at the BVA right now (form 9 received, pending review from RO to go to BVA) for early effective date for a previous claim. I heard that the your file can only be at one place at a time, so I was wondering if filing another claim now would delay current appeal?

 

thanks

Edited September 5, 2017 by tk3000