DMV Win at a Lapse of Consciousness Hearing at Oakland Driver Safety Office

Case History

California Drivers Advocates was retained to defend a client whose driver license had been automatically suspended by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.  The DMV took an immediate suspension action against our client’s driving privilege after they received a Confidential Morbidity Report from an Emergency Room Physician reporting she had suffered a Lapse of Consciousness or Control.

Our 26 year old client is a sworn peace officer who is employed by a Law Enforcement Agency in Northern California.  As part of her job, she is frequently responsible for the transportation and booking of people arrested for a variety of criminal allegations.

In September of 2017, she was processing a prisoner through the County Jail when she began to feel faint.  She turned and headed to a chair but before she could sit down, she lost consciousness and fell flat on her face.  The fall resulted in a fractured nose, broken tooth, split lip and a black eye.  Coworkers would later tell her that she simply fell on her face and did not move.  There was no sign of convulsion or seizure.

Our client was rushed to an area hospital where a physician felt that California Law compelled him to report the incident to the DMV, even though she had not been driving when she fainted.

 DMV’s Position

The California DMV’s position is crystal clear in matters of this nature.  Throughout a person’s driving career, the DMV will monitor all drivers to ensure they maintain the Knowledge, the Skill and the Physical/Mental fitness to driving. If the DMV receives information from any source; in this case a physician, that an adult has suffered a Lapse of Consciousness or Control; even if not driving, the department will identify that as a clear and present danger to the safety of other drivers and will immediately suspend the driving privilege of the involved party.

Essentially, the DMV will jerk that person off the road and then challenge them to demonstrate their fitness to drive.

Our Defense

When our client retained us, we immediately went to work to schedule her “Lapse of Consciousness Hearing” with the Driver Safety Office in the City of Oakland.  Because the DMV had already moved to an immediate suspension, there was no opportunity to request a “Stay of Suspension.”

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 his Primary Care Doctor, a Neurologist, a Cardiologist, and an Optometrist.  The DMV would presume the Etiology of the event was unknown and would look to us to rule out all possibilities of a reoccurrence.  It was our goal to present a broad spectrum of valid medical evidence that there were no physical or mental conditions whatsoever that would prevent her from driving.  We sought to explain that this was an isolated incident that was not precipitated by an underlying medical condition, but that she had fainted as a result of fatigue and dehydration, not some undisclosed medical ailment.

In every instance, extensive medical testing and all of her doctors medically cleared her for driving.

At the hearing, the assigned hearing officer accepted all of our affirmative evidence without objection. Because our client is a woman of such unblemished integrity, she walked into the hearing confident and ready to tell her story.  Because we had taken so much time to prepare her for testimony, she was able to tell her story with great accuracy, honesty and resolve.

The Hearing Officer was so impressed with our presentation and our client’s testimony that he took the extraordinary step of reinstating our Client’s license on the spot.  Today our Client is driving and performing the duties of a cherished “First Responder.”

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 or Control, don’t despair.  You would be astonished how many people are driving right now, simply because they can prove they are medically stable.  Let us prove your case.

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 or Control, don’t despair.  Don’t let the DMV steal your driving freedom without a fight.