Posted on 07/13/2004 4:41:41 PM PDT by mdittmar
A man who told his doctors that he drinks more than a six-pack of beer per day is now fighting to get his driver's license back because the physicians apparently reported him to the state.
Keith Emerich, 44, said Tuesday that he disclosed his drinking habit in February to doctors who were treating him at a hospital for an irregular heartbeat.
"I told them it was over a six-pack a day. It wasn't good for me I'm not going to lie," Emerich said in a telephone interview from his home in Lebanon, about 30 miles east of Harrisburg.
Emerich received a notice from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in April that his license was being revoked effective May 6 for medical reasons related to substance abuse. He has petitioned a judge to restore the license, and a hearing has been set for July 29.
A state law dating to the 1960s requires doctors to report any physical or mental impairments that could compromise a patient's ability to drive safely, PennDOT spokeswoman Joan Nissley said. Nissley said she could not discuss the details of Emerich's case because of confidentiality requirements that also protect the doctor from being identified.
The law requires revocation of the license until the driver can prove he is competent to drive.
Emerich said his heart problem has prompted him to limit his beer drinking to weekends. Aside from a drunken-driving conviction when he was 21, Emerich, a pressman at a printshop who lives alone, said he has a clean driving record and does not drink and drive.
"What I do in the privacy of my own home is none of PennDOT's business," he said.
Asked if he considered his client to be alcoholic, Horace Ehrgood, Emerich's attorney, said: "It depends on what your definition is."
"He's been able to go to work, and he's got a heck of a nice work record. He's been able to function in all other avenues of life," the lawyer said.
Pennsylvania's transportation agency receives about 40,000 medical reports and revokes 5,000 to 6,000 licenses a year but does not keep any statistics on its reasons for doing so, Nissley said. She also said she did not know how many revocations get appealed.
Pennsylvania is one of six states that require doctors to report motorists with medical conditions that could affect their driving, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The other states are California, Delaware, Oregon, Nevada, and New Jersey.
All other states and the District of Columbia allow physicians to submit reports on a voluntary basis.
Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San Diego-based watchdog group, said cases like Emerich's highlight a tension between medical privacy and public safety.
"Certainly, cases like this could lead individuals to refrain from giving their doctors adequate information to treat them," Givens said.
Lightweight.
I'm guessing it doesn't have anything to do with hearing, but rather with the inner ear's role in equilibrium and sense of balance. My grandmother has inner ear problems that make her prone to falling or briefly passing out, and there's been discussion in the family about getting her to stop driving because of this.
Six beers, 12 beers, 18 beers - I say use whatever it takes to get the job done. I hope this guy is a light beer kinda guy - 18 beers a day for a couple of years and the pounds would probably start to pack on.
No No! Not HIC like (hillbilly). heh! But you know how beer or drinking when one is drunk makes them Burp or "HIC" cup??? That's what I meant!
The chat site I belong to " SheLion's Hot Tub HideAway" (for adults). Well, when people are sitting at their computers and drinking beer or the drink of their choice, we can tell when they are getting loaded. So........if someone ask me if "I" was loaded, and I would say 'Ell no!!!! (hic)
I assumed you were hiccuburping. That is why I said "No Problem"
The law requires revocation of the license until the driver can prove he is competent to drive.
Emerich said his heart problem has prompted him to limit his beer drinking to weekends. Aside from a drunken-driving conviction when he was 21, Emerich, a pressman at a printshop who lives alone, said he has a clean driving record and does not drink and drive.
"What I do in the privacy of my own home is none of PennDOT's business," he said.
If justice is done, this gets reversed at his hearing !!
I'd need a bigger glass.
We've discussed this law.....real world example
First, this guy says he works at home and doesn't drink and drive.
Second, you shy away from casual or social drinkers?
Hi SheLion,
Thanks for the ping. So much for going to Doctors. Sheesh!
So now the gobbermint is punishing people for what they MIGHT do. Damn! I need a drink...or 6
LOL! :^D
I have a 50 gallon drum with a handle on it.
I have a 50 gallon drum with a handle on it.Oh, wow. That's pretty big, alright.
Here is what I have in my beer cellar. :^)
While that may be a classic lawyer line, that statement places Mr. Ehrgood squarely in the rank of an amateur.
I use the drum like a mug (keep it in huge freezer). My kegs look like a tank farm.
hahaha ! :^D
I buy Miller Lite by the tanker truckload.
get a grip and get a life...let it go man...one 16oz beer a day doesnt make an alcoholic....jeez man.
Didnt you read the rest of the article? not one moving violation since 1960. I bet you cant claim that. I would rather have a person like him on the road than some idiot that cant drive STONE COLD SOBER. They are deadly 100% of the time....
The Capt.
Reminds Me of the Budwieser commercial with the mouse & the horse in the barn.
Look out Norm, they'll be after You next...
Every time the goobermint asked me a question, even if its apparently totally harmless...I lie...even when i dont have to...according to my census form i am 118 yr old native american who speaks fluent catonese and makes less than $180.00/year and who has 42 people in my household..all with the same name as me...cant be too careful...bet it plays heck with all their phone statistics...LOL
The Capt.
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