Impaired Drivers?
 

A woman in our chapter was recently diagnosed with MS. She has debiliatating spasms (where for minutes at a time she'll flip back into her chair and rub her arms and legs in pain). She has other people sign documents for her and take notes because her hands don't work well. She is currently using a cane to walk. She is excused from many mandatory events, due to medical appointments and flare-ups of her condition.

This woman was also listed as an approved driver for our chapter. (As a state school, approved student organizations with approved drivers have access to state vehicles.) She was driving a vehicle to a philanthropy recently where she proclaimed to the occupants of the car that she couldn't feel her legs or hands while driving.

We removed her from our approved driver list accordingly because she is a liability and our insurance policy says that "no driver may be impaired". We considered this an impairment.

She flipped a lid and said this was illegal and discrimination and is threatening to sue us. She also now says she never had MS, only "pre-MS".

Were we wrong in removing her? Has anyone else dealt with this situation?

Wow. I hope some of your alumnae are lawyers because that's a question I'm not going to touch with a ten-foot pole.

Seriously though -- you really need to talk to a lawyer. If you don't have one, maybe your national office does.

Legalities aside, anyone who is diagnosed with MS (I have never heard of such a thing as pre-MS) should have enough concern for others to willingly remove themselves from a situation where they could endanger other people.

With MS, you can have days where you're perfectly fine and days where you can barely walk. It flares and calms down. The minute she was diagnosed, she should have turned in her driver's license, let alone do anything else concerning a vehicle. She obviously isn't thinking of anyone but herself. I'd terminate her not for the MS, but for being a general a-hole. It sounds as though she uses her disease when it's convenient for her.

You can keep her on your list, but see how many sisters are willing to climb into a car with her. I know I wouldn't! And 33girl...you've never heard of pre-MS because there is NO SUCH THING!

Thanks guys. I told her I had never even heard of pre-MS. Her response: "Wow, you're going to be a shitty doctor. Especially since you love to discriminate against ill people."

I'm incredibly frustrated with this situation.

Thanks for your advice, Kevin. We actually don't have any alumnae who are lawyers (darn technical science and engineering group! :) ) but a dad (who is also Sigma Chi) is a lawyer who works specifically with liability and insurance. He says if we do get sued, they would subpoena the medical records and we should be fine as long as she was honest about her condition. He also said the fact that she is registered with the school's disability department should sway in our favor.

Thanks for the help, everyone.

Oh, and AOII Angel, the reason we had to remove her is because she is allowed to rent cars in the chapter's name at pretty much anytime (as long as the Department approves it). So, if she had a spasm while driving alone and wrecked the car, we'd personally have to pay for it.

I think she means the "onset" of MS. It still means her symptoms aren't as bad as they probably will become.

I don't see being sued being a problem for y'all, because you've done nothing wrong - even though this sister thinks so :/

Ah...that's a major problem. I think from everything you have told us, she has basically given you everything you need to prove that she is not a safe driver. From a medical standpoint, this does not sound safe. You have several people who can testify that she said that she couldn't feel her hands or feet while driving. That is an impairment that makes her unfit to be a designated driver. I'd like to see her get in front of a judge or jury and try to argue that one!

If you wanted to cover your ass, you could require her to get a signed letter from her physician stating that her medical condition, including periods of spasm, numbness and pain, do not impair her ability to control a car or endanger the lives of others. I guarantee that no neurologist will sign a letter to that effect.