Being a safe driver requires being alert, making good decisions, and quickly reacting to the movements of other road users. When those requirements can’t be fully met, people shouldn’t get behind the wheel. That’s why driving while impaired/intoxicated and using a cell phone while driving are against the law in Oklahoma.

However, some people experience a significant impairment in their ability to drive safely through no fault of their own due to disease. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are common age-related conditions, and they can progress slowly over the course of many years. That means that many elderly drivers get behind the wheel every day while being far less capable of handling the demands of driving than they were in the past—all without realizing their new limitations.

When elderly drivers cause car accidents through negligence, they can and should be held liable just like drivers of any other age group. But what happens if those elderly drivers are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia?

An Alzheimer’s Disease or Dementia Diagnosis Doesn’t Exempt Drivers from Liability

In their most advanced stages, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are profoundly disabling and often fatal. Patients may be unaware of their surroundings and unable to recognize loved ones. However, people in the early stages of these diseases may have few symptoms and be able to live independently for years.

Oklahoma law says that drivers who are diagnosed with dementia “may be allowed to continue to drive in Oklahoma if their physician indicates that they are presently safe to drive and if they can pass the road test.” They also must be periodically tested by a doctor to determine if or how much their disease has progressed and whether it has impacted their ability to drive safely.

When drivers with only mild symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia and who have been cleared by their doctors to drive end up causing crashes, they can be held liable for any damages they cause.

Potential Damages in Crashes Caused by Drivers With Dementia or Alzheimer’s

Accidents involving drivers with dementia or Alzheimer’s can lead to devastating injuries and complex legal situations. It’s crucial to understand the various types of damages you may be eligible to recover to ensure you receive the full compensation you deserve. Here’s how we can assist:

• Medical Expenses: Our firm can assist in recovering compensation for all medical expenses incurred due to the accident. This includes hospital bills, ongoing treatment costs, medication, and any necessary rehabilitation.
• Lost Wages: If the accident causes you to miss work, you may be entitled to recover lost wages. This covers the income you would have earned during your recovery period, helping to alleviate financial stress while you focus on getting better.
• Pain and Suffering: Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may also be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering. This encompasses the physical pain and emotional trauma you experienced because of the accident, acknowledging its broader impact on your quality of life.

Our team is experienced in handling the unique legal challenges that arise from accidents involving drivers with cognitive impairments. By working with us, you can focus on your recovery while we fight to secure the maximum compensation you are entitled to.

Family Members and Caregivers May Be Held Liable for Crashes Caused by Patients with Advanced Dementia

As Alzheimer’s disease and dementia progress, patients may no longer be able to drive safely. When that happens, their doctors are permitted to report them to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) if they believe they are incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle.

In addition to reporting them to the DPS, they should also notify their caregivers and family members. Upon being notified that the person with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is no longer capable of driving safely, the caregivers or family members are then required to prevent the patient from driving. If they fail to do so, they may instead be held liable themselves if their loved one causes a crash.

Note, however, that family members typically bear no liability if their loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia cause crashes while living full-time in caregiving facilities or under the supervision of full-time caregivers.

Warning Signs That a Loved One Should Stop Driving

It’s heartbreaking when families have to make the tough decision to take their family member’s independence away. It’s also challenging to know when the time has come. Here are a few warning signs to look for that may help you with the decision-making process:

• Getting Lost on Familiar Routes: If your loved one starts getting lost on routes they have traveled for years, it could indicate significant cognitive decline. This confusion not only poses a danger to them but also to other road users, signaling that it might be time to reassess their driving ability.
• Neglecting Vehicle Maintenance: A decline in attentiveness can be reflected in how your loved one maintains their vehicle. Forgetting routine tasks like oil changes, ignoring warning lights, or neglecting tire care are signs that their focus and responsibility are diminishing.
• Changes in Reaction Time or Awareness: Noticeable changes in reaction time while driving, such as delayed responses to traffic signals or difficulty staying focused on the road, are critical warning signs. These changes can significantly increase the risk of accidents.

If you observe any of these warning signs, it’s important to prioritize safety and have a compassionate conversation with your loved one about alternative transportation options.

Tips for Preventing a Loved One with Alzheimer’s or Dementia From Driving

It can be difficult to predict the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Patients may show only mild symptoms for years and then suddenly take a turn for the worse in a matter of months or weeks. However, patients who suddenly worsen may still want independence, including the ability to drive.

It’s important for family members and caregivers to be open and honest about why the person with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is no longer allowed to drive. Gifting their car to another family member or selling it and using the money to pay for their living expenses can reduce the risk that they get behind the wheel while also helping them cope with their lost independence.

We Handle Negligent Crashes Caused by Drivers with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

At Parrish DeVaughn Injury Lawyers, we sympathize with both victims of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and their loved ones. These diseases are tragic and often put enormous stress on families. But we also know that once patients are ruled incapable of driving safely, they must stay off the road at all costs to protect themselves and others.

If you or someone you love was hurt in a crash caused by a driver with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or another cognitive impairment, we want to help. Depending on their diagnosis, they may be directly liable for your damages, or you may be able to get compensation for your injuries from their caregiver or family member. Contact us today for a free consultation. Our Oklahoma car accident attorneys want to help you get maximum compensation.

Originally published June 20, 2022.

Driving is a task most of us do daily. That means it’s easy to take safely getting from point A to point B for granted. But driving is an extremely complex and demanding task, both mentally and physically. It requires uninterrupted focus and concentration, a clear view of the road ahead, fast reflexes, and good judgment.

Many things can impair or interfere with those requirements, including alcohol, prescription drugs, certain over-the-counter medications, and sleep deprivation. But there’s another variable that can make driving much more dangerous that people often don’t think about until it’s too late: age.

Advanced Age Makes Safe Driving More Difficult

Once they get past their teen years, drivers tend to be safer and less likely to be involved in crashes with every passing year—up to a point. Once drivers reach their mid-60s and older, their driving abilities tend to decline due to age-related issues.

For example, they may experience the following physical and cognitive symptoms, which can all impact their ability to safely drive their vehicles:

• Reduced visual acuity up close and far away, macular degeneration, and cataracts
• Slower reflexes
• Difficulty remembering previously familiar routes
• Difficulty finding their way through new areas
• Newfound fear and anxiety behind the wheel
• Harder time maintaining a steady speed or holding a lane

It’s important to stay up to date on your elderly loved one’s health. If they have medical conditions or take medication that can interfere with their driving abilities, consider arranging alternate transportation for them.

Age-Related Changes Create More Opportunities for Crashes

When it comes to safe driving, small, detrimental changes quickly add up. And when many small changes are occurring at once—each of which can worsen year to year—it’s easy to see why senior drivers can be a danger to themselves and others.

Some of the biggest dangers senior drivers face include:

• Not seeing other vehicles, signs, and traffic signals—Being a safe driver is all about situational awareness. You need to be able to see what’s going on around you, including the location and movement of other vehicles, the presence of stop and yield signs, and when lights change color. Seniors with vision problems may have extreme difficulty with these basic requirements.
• Being slow to react to the movements of other vehicles—Getting cut off in traffic or having the driver in front of you slam on their brakes unnecessarily can be scary and frustrating. But for senior drivers, those frequent roadway occurrences can result in crashes. That’s because their reflexes may be slower, making them unable to react in time.
• Having difficulty judging distances between objects and other vehicles—Having good spatial awareness is an important skill for drivers. All drivers should be knowledgeable about the dimensions of their own vehicles, especially when parking, stopping in traffic, and turning. But many seniors lose this ability, resulting in unexplained scrapes and dents on their vehicle.
• Taking medications that cause drowsiness—As people age, their likelihood of being on one or more prescription medications increases. Seniors often take multiple medications, and the more medications they take, the more likely they are to take at least one that causes drowsiness. Alertness behind the wheel is vital, and anything that impairs it can cause a crash.
• Being unable to steer properly or see over the dashboard—The aging process and various injuries can cause seniors to lose strength in their cores and other muscles. That can make it difficult for them to sit fully upright, meaning they don’t get a full view of the road ahead. Muscle weakness can also make it difficult to steer, accelerate, and brake when needed.
• Getting lost on both familiar and unfamiliar routes—Some degree of memory loss is common in seniors, especially once they reach their 80s and 90s. That means that their knowledge of previously familiar routes, such as to the grocery store, church, or a relative’s house, can become fuzzy or lost. When seniors get lost, they’re more likely to engage in dangerous driving behaviors.

If your elderly loved one has already been involved in an accident, even if it was a parking lot fender bender, it’s important to discuss their risks with them. Although many senior drivers are reluctant to give up driving, others may be fearful behind the wheel and glad to have assistance and support.

We Help Crash Victims of All Ages Throughout Oklahoma

At Parrish DeVaughn Injury Lawyers, our Oklahoma auto accident attorneys know the risks that seniors face behind the wheel. They’re more likely to be involved in crashes because they’re simply less capable of driving safely than younger drivers. But at the same time, senior drivers are also more at risk because they’re less able to avoid dangerous, negligent, and reckless drivers, and are more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a crash than other age groups.

If your loved one was hurt in a crash caused by a negligent driver, whether it was someone who shouldn’t be behind the wheel or someone who didn’t take their responsibility seriously, we want to help. We’ll do everything we can to get your family maximum compensation. Contact us today for a free consultation.

How often have you heard it said that seniors are at higher risks of causing car accidents? Some have come to believe that more mature drivers are not as safety-conscious as motorists of other age groups. Our auto accident lawyer knows the facts and now debunks the myths that give seniors a bad reputation on the roads.

Older Drivers are Safer Drivers

With the help of AAA, insights into the driving behavior of senior citizens offer up some startling facts. For starters, mature drivers know their limitations and avoid driving conditions that they deem unsafe. They are more conscientious about using their seat belts than other age groups. At the same time, these motorists are far less likely to drive under the influence of alcohol.

Seniors Die at Higher Rates in Auto Accidents

In spite of these positive trends, drivers over the age of 65 die at an alarming rate because of vehicle accidents. A number of conditions may contribute to this increase in mortality.

• Fragility. As the body ages, it becomes more fragile. Diseases affecting the bones and connective tissues can result in injuries that are far more serious for an older driver than for a younger one.
• Medical complications. It is a common misconception that this age group is more prone to get into accidents and therefore has a higher mortality rate. In fact, it is the possibility of experiencing medical complications during and after treatments associated with the crash that increase the death risk.

If you are a senior who has sustained injuries during a car crash, contact us. Our auto accident lawyer can help you learn how to protect your rights. Far too often, unscrupulous insurance adjusters will try to blame your age for the accident rather than the unsafe driving behavior of the other motorist. Do not let them get away with it!