Driver claiming she blacked out - not liable for crash?!

[jm doc]

EazyDuz said:

Graveworm said:

Transient loss of consciousness is indeed a term. Its a posh way of saying blackout which has been in the conversation since the first post. It is a symptom that can be caused by many things. It always has a reason to happen and may well happen again depending on what that reason is.

Not always a reason, thats incorrect. Just like spontaneous death. One can blackout with zero inherited conditions or lifestyle causes which would cause it. You cant hold her responsible for something that was out of her control. She didnt plan to blackout, she likely didnt starve herself to black out, and unless she has some kind of condition recorded on her NHS file which proves she is prone to blackouts, the blame is not on her.

You cannot “blame” her unless she knowingly drove a vehicle having previously had an episode of loss of consciousness, driving or otherwise. She has a statutory duty to inform the DVLA of this, as I do as a doctor if I become aware of a patient driving without declaring a condition such as this. Until she has had a diagnosis made her licence to drive is suspended and so will any car insurance policy she may have.

[Graveworm]

EazyDuz said:

Not always a reason, thats incorrect. Just like spontaneous death. One can blackout with zero inherited conditions or lifestyle causes which would cause it. You cant hold her responsible for something that was out of her control. She didnt plan to blackout, she likely didnt starve herself to black out, and unless she has some kind of condition recorded on her NHS file which proves she is prone to blackouts, the blame is not on her.

We clearly have a different definition of reason. I wasn't saying she can be blamed but blackouts and death for that matter, always have causes no matter how sudden, spontaneous or unpredictable.

[EazyDuz]

Graveworm said:

We clearly have a different definition of reason. I wasn't saying she can be blamed but blackouts and death for that matter, always have causes no matter how sudden, spontaneous or unpredictable.

Thats the thing, they dont. Plenty of people have suddenly died and even with autopsies no reason has been found. Even myself, when I was younger I came very, very close to passing out. It only ever happened once but if I was driving i'd have likely crashed if I didnt stop in time.
Ive also had one or two sudden onset migraines in my life, which would have severely hindered my driving ability if I was driving at the time. Again, a very rare occurrence but my general health is and always has been just fine. These things just happen sometimes.

[Graveworm]

EazyDuz said:

Thats the thing, they dont. Plenty of people have suddenly died and even with autopsies no reason has been found. Even myself, when I was younger I came very, very close to passing out. It only ever happened once but if I was driving i'd have likely crashed if I didnt stop in time.
Ive also had one or two sudden onset migraines in my life, which would have severely hindered my driving ability if I was driving at the time. Again, a very rare occurrence but my general health is and always has been just fine. These things just happen sometimes.

Just because they didn't find a reason doesn't mean there isn't one. Death and blackouts are only symptoms they have to have a cause. It's like saying there was a sound or smell without any cause.