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DMV Victory at a Lapse of Consciousness Hearing at the Covina DSO

Case History: California Drivers Advocates was engaged to defend a client whose driver license had been summarily suspended by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.  The DMV took an immediate suspension action against the client’s driving privilege after they received a referral from a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff reporting that she had fallen asleep while driving and had caused a traffic collision.  The deputy’s referral suggested that our client was disoriented, confused, and could not explain how the accident had occurred.  Furthermore, the deputy went on to report that the interior of our client’s car was cluttered with personal belongings.

Our client had once before been referred to the DMV for re-examination when a Physician’s Assistant mistakenly reported her for having a stroke.  Although that earlier issue was proven to be false, it still appeared on her driving record and therefore, the DMV presumed that her new accident was evidence of a more serious and unidentified medical problem.

Just two days prior to her accident, our client had returned from a two-week trip to Hong Kong and Vietnam.  She had returned to Los Angeles after a 15 hour flight.  The following day, she rested at home but because her internal clock was still set to the time in Southeast Asia, she did not sleep.  The very next day, she returned to work but was exhausted.  After a short work day, our client drove to a local child care center to pick up her young daughter.  After properly restraining her child in a safety seat, she began the drive home.

Approximately two blocks from her home, our client was overcome by the lingering fatigue from “jet lag” and fell asleep at the wheel, causing a traffic collision.

DMV’s Position: The California DMV’s position was crystal clear. Because the Law Enforcement referral indicated that our client had fallen asleep at the wheel, the DMV considered the event to be a “Lapse of Consciousness” and immediately suspended our client’s driving privilege.  Additionally, because the DMV had previously conducted a re-examination of our client; their suspicion was that there was some sinister, underlying medical condition that made our client unsafe to drive.

It was the goal of the DMV to revoke our client’s driving privilege for an indeterminate period of time.

Our Defense: When our client retained us, we immediately went to work to schedule her “Lapse of Consciousness” hearing with the Covina Driver Safety Office.  Because the DMV had already moved to an immediate suspension, there was no opportunity to request a “Stay of Suspension.”  This caused a sense of urgency for our client as she commutes to work each day.  We simply had to get her back on the road as soon as possible.

Our defense began with a detailed interview of the client to determine her complete medical history and the details of what had occurred.  We then embarked on a structured and focused path to collect affirmative medical evidence for our case.  At our direction, our client met with her Primary Care Doctor, a Cardiologist, a Neurologist and a specialist in Sleep Apnea.

During this time, we also collected evidence establishing that our client had, in fact, just returned from a trip to Asia days before the accident.  We also had our client attend an “on-line” driving school. We also invested a great deal of time, preparing our client for testimony at her hearing.

At the hearing, the hearing officer accepted all of our affirmative evidence without objection and considered the testimony of our client.  Because we had worked so hard to prepare our client, she testified with great emotion and credibility which made our position clear.  Our preparation was so complete that when it was time for the hearing officer to cross-examine our client, there were very few questions.

Just three weeks after receiving the Order of Suspension in the mail, our client’s driving privilege was fully reinstated without restriction.

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Call CDA Today.  Let us put you back on the road. The DMV Defense Experts at California Drivers Advocates include former police officers, DMV Hearing Officers, Investigators and Scientists.  Our training, our experience and our reputation provide any driver the best opportunity to win their Administrative Hearing.

If your driver license has been suspended because you suffer with a physical or mental condition characterized by a Lapse of Consciousness, don’t despair.  These hearings really can be won and we can get you there.

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