Sleep apnea and driving

Hello,
Is sleep apnea concidered a disability if you drive for a living?

i don't know it for a fact but I would say yes on this. I know when I started treatment my Dr. advised me not to even drive out to get the mail. i ended up on short term disability for it.(12 weeks) But now for some unknown reason I still have the concentration, focus issues and I have been released back to work. But i wouldn't think if you drive for a living it would be a good idea to be on the roads. just my 2 cents. good luck

I drive a great deal as I travel calling on dealers for my product, usually drive about 40,000 miles a year. I was advised not to do this and apply for disability but as I am self employed, this just was not an option and I found this treatment and do much better. However, I did check with the state of Texas and was told that with the proper tests and and a letter from my doctor stating I was a liability and a letter from my employer stating I had to drive in my work and could not hold employment otherwise that it was indeed a disability. They also said if I had a history of accidents from it that would strenghthen my cause. I neverfollowed through but check with your state and see.

I suffer from severe OSA, and untreated I was a hazard on the road. I also travel extensively for my job. With my treatment by APAP, as long as I use my machine (which I do) I am rested and not a hazard. CPAP is not the cure, but the medicine that lets you live a normaL life, just like insulin does for persons with diabetes. If they skip an injection of insulin a diabetic is in trouble, as we are if we don't use our PAPs. If you are in doubt regarding your treatment, get your reactions tested. With proper sleep, they should be fine.

It depends on who is defining disability. Are you talking about short term or long term disability insurance? Each policy will have its own definition but two common themes are hisocc or anyocc. Hisocc refers to not being able to work in your own occupation and is usually the definition used for short term disability. Anyocc refers to not being able to work any occupation at all based on your transferable skills- its usually the definition used for long term disability. There is no one definition that applies to all laws- each is different depending on the purpose of the law and the interpretation by the courts. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has one of the strictest definitions; other programs & laws are much more lenient.

The ADA (Americas with Disabilities Act) has a much different definition which has been determined in the courts to be much more strict then most people realize. Its not just a matter of having a disability but you need to be able to do the essential functions of your job with or without an accommodation. If an accommodation is needed it cannot cause undue hardship for the employer. The disability has to be permanent and has to substantially limit one or more major life activities- for most people with apnea that is treated/controlled by xPAP it does not substantially limit sleep. Driving hasn't been considered a major life activity by the courts & just because your job requires doesn't mean you couldn't work a job that didn't require driving. Additionally if you must meet DOT standards for driving there is no wiggle room- if you can't meet DOT standards you are no longer qualified to do the job. Even if you meet the other qualification the issue of undue hardship for your employer comes into play. If your primary function is driving it would more then likely be an undue hardship for your employer to pay someone else to drive you but if you only occasionally need to drive or could use alternative transportation it might be doable.

Here are a couple links on the ADA:
http://www.imakenews.com/employmentlaw/ ... 057958.cfm
http://www.careerjournal.com/myc/legal/ ... anter.html
http://www.elinfonet.com/fedarticles/5/19/14