Reporting Seizures to the DMV
by: Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota-Duluth
A legal question and answer line for Seniors.
DEAR SENIOR LEGAL LINE:
I recently had a change in my medications which inadvertently caused me to suffer a seizure while I was driving. Luckily, it was a very small, short seizure and no one was hurt. My doctor says it should not happen again after we modified my medications. However, it got me to thinking - do I have to report my seizure to the DMV?
Signed, Esther
DEAR ESTHER:
I am glad that you are okay and that no one was hurt. However, the law worries about just such situations - you and others could have been hurt. Minnesota law and rules set out certain procedures that allow the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety (the agency that administers driving privileges) to review each such situation to determine if there is too much risk to allow the driver to continue to have driving privileges.
Driving means independence. It is a serious thing to take someone's driving privileges away and it is not done lightly. Minnesota Rule 7410.2500 governs "loss of consciousness or voluntary control". It states that a driver shall report an episode of loss of consciousness or voluntary control, in writing, to the DMV either at the time of applying for a driver's license; or within 30 days after the episode. Each report must specify the date of the episode and must be accompanied by a physician's statement in the form prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Safety.
Your seizure may qualify as a "loss of consciousness or voluntary control". The rule defines loss of consciousness or voluntary control as the inability to assume or retain upright posture without support or the inability to respond rationally to external stimuli. It seems to me that a seizure would fall under this definition. If so, you must report it within 30 days of the seizure, along with the physician's statement.
If you fail to submit the report, the Commissioner of Public Safety can cancel or deny your driving privileges for six months from the date of the failure to report.
Once you report, the Commissioner will review your report and the physician's statement. If your physician's statement gives a favorable prognosis for control of your condition, the commissioner will not cancel your driving privileges. A favorable prognosis can be that the seizure was the first seizure you experienced in four or more years; that the seizure was due to an intervening and self-limiting temporary illness treated by a physician, or that you forgot to take your medication; or the short and long term prognosis is favorable for some other reason.
In other words, the Commissioner does not automatically cancel your driving privileges when you report your seizure. They will review your physician's statement to determine if you can safely operate a motor vehicle. It seems to me that your propensity for seizures cleared up after your medications were modified, so your prognosis for no further seizures is very favorable and the Commissioner will most likely not cancel your driving privileges. Contact your local DMV office or go to the "Drivers License Forms" link on the Department of Public Safety's Driver and Vehicle Services webpage at:
www.dps.state.mn.us/dvs/PDFForms/FormFrame.htm.
Scroll down the webpage to see the link to the seizure/loss of consciousness form for you and your physician to fill out.
This column is written by the Senior Citizens' Law Project. It is not meant to give complete answers to individual questions. If you are 60 years of age or older and live within the Minnesota Arrowhead Region, you may contact us with questions for legal help by writing t Senior Citizens' Law Project, Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota, 302 Ordean Bldg., Duluth, MN 55802. Please include a phone number and return address. To view previous articles, go to www.lasnem.org. Reprints by permission only.
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