Q: About driving with epilepsy?
Lets say I have been seizure free for 6 months and get back into driving. If I were to have an accident after legally being allowed to drive due to a seizure would I still be a fault if I were to kill a pedestrian or another driver? What if it was because of a seizure that slipped through even though I had been taking my medicine daily? I only ask because I have had 2 accidents from having a seizure behind the wheel but have only injured myself on both times, years apart from each other, even though I had been taking my medicine regularly. But I fear if I were to start driving again if it happens I dont want to go to jail for accidental manslaughter.
A:
There are two different standards of fault in your scenario, criminal and civil. With civil (potentially triggering a lawsuit against you), your prior health history is basically irrelevant. If you cause an accident because a seizure causes you to drive in a careless manner, you are civilly at fault. Therefore, should you choose to continue driving, you better have maximum insurance coverage, such as at least a million dollars in bodily injury liability coverage (which likely has a very high premium), and if you can't afford the premium, it's best you refrain from driving.
Turning to criminal fault, that is based on your intent at the time of the incident. If the State could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, at the time of the accident, you were driving with the knowledge that you can have a seizure at any time, without warning, then yes, you could be convicted of manslaughter if the accident causes a death, or convicted of reckless driving and/or other crimes if it causes an injury. It would take a crystal ball to know if the State would have sufficient proof of that at the time of a future accident.
If I were in your shoes, I would get the written opinions of two or three medical professionals as to whether it's advisable to drive in your condition.
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