DMV Victory at a Re-Examination Hearing at the San Diego Driver Safety Office

Case History:

Our client was involved in a traffic collision while driving home and was severely injured. He suffered severely broken bones and a concussion. He was transported to the hospital by ambulance where he was admitted and remained for five days. Client is a US Navy veteran who is 100% disabled as a result of a severe psychological injury and suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

While at the hospital, a social worker prepared a “Confidential Morbidity Report” that was signed by a physician. The report was sent to the California DMV reporting that our client was suffering from an “Altered Mental State” and was “Over-medicated.”

When the DMV received the report from the hospital, they assumed the allegation to be true and assumed our client was unsafe to drive; despite the fact that his driving record reflected no moving violations or traffic collisions in 10 years.

 DMV’s Position:

The California DMV’s position was crystal clear. If the department receives a Confidential Morbidity Report from a medical professional which suggests a driver has a physical or mental condition which makes them unsafe to drive; the DMV will act immediately to suspend that person’s driver license.

Normally, the suspicion of a physical or mental problem causes the DMV to call a driver in for a Re-Examination “Interview” to investigate the matter; however, the Confidential Morbidity Report causes the DMV to suspend the driver license without any further information, based solely on the word of a doctor or other medical professional.

Once such a suspension occurs, the driver’s privilege will not be reinstated until they prove their ability to safely drive. To make this happen, the driver must schedule, conduct and win a Re-Examination Hearing.

Our Defense:

Our position was equally clear. Our defense was that our client was traumatically injured in a traffic collision and that any notion that he suffered with an “altered mental state” was symptomatic of a concussion. We were able to get a statement from the emergency room physician who had attended our client, which confirmed that our client was concussed and that the altered mental state was caused by that injury. There was no laboratory analysis to prove that our client was overly medicated and each of his physicians prepared proper reports to the DMV that our client was safe to drive.

We combined all of this information with other presentations at the hearing to demonstrate that our client was not a “menace to society.” We had thoroughly prepared our client for examination and cross-examination so he presented himself as solid and credible.

Outcome:

At the end of the Re-Examination Hearing, the Hearing Officer made the extraordinary comment that she had no questions whatsoever because we had addressed every conceivable issue. The Hearing Officer terminated the suspension immediately and prepared an “Order of Set Aside/Reinstatement.”

Because of our detailed effort, our client’s driving privilege was fully reinstated with no restrictions and no requirement for the purchase of an SR-22 Form. This was a complete victory.

 If the DMV is suspending your driver license, call us. We can help.

If the DMV announces that they have suspended or revoked your driver license without warning, you are entitled to fight. You have an absolute right to examine the evidence against you and to work to prove that evidence is incorrect. Everything the DMV does, however, is time sensitive. If you have received an Order of Suspension because of a physical or mental ailment, you may only have 10 to 14 days to schedule a hearing.

At California Drivers Advocates, we’ve seen every play in the DMV’s book. We know what they are doing and we know how to turn it around. Don’t let the DMV steal your driver license without a fight. Call us today.