Trucking Companies Win Ruling on Drug Tests of Semi Truck Drivers After Injury Accidents
When a semi truck driver causes an accident that results in an injury or death to another person, that driver is required to take drug and alcohol tests as soon as practicable after the accident. This is a fairly informal process whereby the driver is supposed to go to a local drug testing facility and request the tests. If the results are positive, trucking companies are supposed to discipline the driver accordingly, and plaintiff's lawyers for the injured party or deceased family will obtain those results and use them against the semi truck driver in any lawsuit that follows from the accident.
It is not uncommon for the the ensuing drug and alcohol tests to be unreliable for a variety of reasons, one of which is that the semi truck driver, who obviously has time to prepare for the drug and alcohol tests, may obtain and submit a clean sample from someone else.
The Department of Transportation, which regulates the trucking industry, recently enacted regulations which would require a semi truck driver to participate in the urine sample process under observation. However, several companies filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C.to prevent these observed urine collections. The court has initially ruled that there will be no observed urine collections under the regulations until the court has had more time to evaluate the issues and make its final determination. So, in the meantime, even where there is evidence or suspicion of urine tampering, semi truck drivers who have caused accidents do not yet have to submit to drug and alcohol urine tests under observation.
