Prison term upheld for psychiatrist for fatal seizure-caused car crash

Was there proof that he was having a seizure or did he just tell everyone that?

How do we know he didn't just hit the gas instead of the break like so many people do?

Have to agree with the courts on this one. Driving with a chronic illness is like driving drunk or stoned.

So how is this different from those old people who were told that they were too old to drive but drove any way and caused accidents resulting in death? They don't face any jail time at all or at least we don't hear anything about it. These laws seem to change to fit certain situations.

I don't agree with this verdict. I definitely don't think this a criminal offence for the psychiatrist and should at most be a civil penalty.

This will put a chilling effect on how psychiatrists medicate everyone in future as they now know they can be held personally responsible for other peoples' actions. Very poor decision to say the least

sir_bentley28Today 09:14 am JST

So how is this different from those old people who were told that they were too old to drive but drove any way and caused accidents resulting in death? They don't face any jail time at all or at least we don't hear anything about it. These laws seem to change to fit certain situations.

It's different because it's not illegal to drive just because you're old but to hide a diagnosis is.

I don't agree with this verdict. I definitely don't think this a criminal offence for the psychiatrist and should at most be a civil penalty.

This will put a chilling effect on how psychiatrists medicate everyone in future as they now know they can be held personally responsible for other peoples' actions. Very poor decision to say the least

You are mixing up the case, the psychiatrist didn't medicate anyone but himself and he was the one who plowed into the store.

Ex partner had epilepsy. It was impossible to tell when the seizure will start, but in the 15+ times they were totally out of control. It was very sad. People with such a diagnosis should never drive or operate heavy machinery or captain boats. They should take trains, buses etc. if you are blind you can’t be a pilot.

i could understand if this guy lived in the sticks and had to drive to get around, but this was in freaking tokyo for heaven's sake. use the darn trains to get around if you have epilepsy. absolutely no need for him to be driving. double the sentence because of his arrogance and stupidity.

dcog:

It was the psychiatrist himself who had the medical condition and was taking the medication for it.

I cannot help feeling sorry for the poor sod!