Search Articles

Find Attorneys

Doctor Not Liable for Dementia Patient's Fatal Crash

[This article was originally published on September 7, 2012.  The links were updated on June 13, 2018.]

A California jury has found that a doctor has no responsibility for a fatal car crash caused by an 85-year-old patient whom he had diagnosed with dementia but not reported to authorities. 

Local Elder Law Attorneys in Your City

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

Lorraine Sullivan was driving with her longtime partner William Powers, 90, when she suddenly turned left and into the path of an oncoming car.  Sullivan survived but Powers died of his injuries.  As reported in the Los Angeles Times, Powers’ family sued Sullivan’s doctor, Arthur Daigneault, for wrongful death, arguing that he should have taken steps to have Sullivan’s license revoked.

Doctors are generally not required to report patients they believe are unsafe, but California is one of a handful of states that has such a rule. California requires doctors to report to local health officials patients with "disorders characterized by lapses of consciousness," including dementia.  However, doctors may use their own clinical judgment about whether a patient is a danger on the road.

In 2007, Sullivan complained of memory loss to Dr. Daigneault.  After tests showed a slight decline in cognitive functioning over the following year, Dr. Daigneault prescribed an Alzheimer’s drug, and then switched her to a different drug when she said her memory loss was worsening.  Sullivan’s daughter testified that her mother, whom she saw weekly, successfully hid her dementia diagnosis from her.   

After deliberating for half an hour, an Orange County jury found that Dr. Daigneault did not violate standards of care or state law by not reporting Sullivan to authorities.

The Los Angeles Times notes that “the case casts a spotlight on a problem that will grow more common as the population ages and doctors see more dementia and other conditions related to old age, such as slowed reflexes, lack of alertness and diseases that can trigger lapses of consciousness.”  Drivers 80 and older are involved in 5.5 times as many fatal crashes per mile driven as middle-aged drivers, according to Consumer Reports.  Fifty-seven million drivers older than 65 are expected to be driving U.S. roads by 2030, nearly double the 2007 figure.

The potential risks of elderly drivers gained nationwide attention when a an 86-year-old man drove his car into a farmers market in Santa Monica, California, in July 2003, killing 10 people and injuring 63.  Three years later the driver, George Weller, was found guilty of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter but was sentenced to five years' felony probation due to his advanced age.  Weller died in 2010.

For an article on confronting an unsafe driver, click here.


Created date: 09/07/2012
Medicaid 101
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

READ MORE
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

READ MORE
Medicaid Planning Strategies

Careful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.

READ MORE
Estate Recovery: Can Medicaid Take My House After I’m Gone?

If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.

READ MORE
Help Qualifying and Paying for Medicaid, Or Avoiding Nursing Home Care

There are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.

READ MORE
Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Parents’ Care?

Most states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.

READ MORE
Applying for Medicaid

Applying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

READ MORE
Alternatives to Medicaid

Medicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.

READ MORE
ElderLaw 101
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

READ MORE
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

READ MORE
Long-Term Care Insurance

Understand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.

READ MORE
Medicare

Learn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.

READ MORE
Retirement Planning

We explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.

READ MORE
Senior Living

Find out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.

READ MORE
Social Security

Get a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.

READ MORE
Special Needs Planning

Learn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.

READ MORE
Veterans Benefits

Explore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.

READ MORE