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Life is so much harder when you have trouble sleeping. Accordingly, many Americans turn to prescription sleeping medications, such as Ambien, to help them get a good night’s sleep and wake up ready to face the day. When problems with Ambien causing drowsiness the next day were first discovered ten years ago, the FDA stepped in to require drugmakers to adjust dosages. Despite these changes, sleep medications are still a concern for driver safety.
How Ambien Was Changed by the FDA in 2013
Because of concerns that Ambien and similar sleeping medications posed a threat to users in next morning, the FDA intervened. Specifically, the FDA is concerned that the medication remains in a person’s system and increases the risk of car accident injuries the next morning.
Accordingly, the FDA required the manufacturers of Ambien and similar drugs to lower the dosages to try and prevent morning accident injuries. The FDA is requiring that the dosages for women be cut in half since the drug seems to remain in women’s systems longer and is suggesting that the dosages for men be similarly cut. In addition, the FDA warned patients that they should not drive or engage in activities that require complete mental alertness the day after taking Ambien.
What This May Mean for You
If you take Ambien or similar drugs containing zolpidem, then it is important to talk to your doctor. Even though the dangers of sleeping pills have fallen out of the headlines over the last decade, the medication can still cause drowsiness the next day and could affect your driving.
If you have been in a morning car crash and you believe the other driver may have been drowsy, it is important to talk to your lawyer about your concerns so that appropriate discovery efforts can be made and the true cause of your accident can be known. If the driver who caused your crash had been taking sleeping pills or not, falling asleep at the wheel is considered a form of negligence and the driver could be held accountable for the losses you suffered as a result of the crash.
Contact a Culpeper Car Accident Attorney If You’ve Been Hurt
If you have been injured in a recent Virginia auto accident caused by a drowsy or distracted driver, then it is important to find out about your rights and to protect your potential recovery. Please contact an experienced Culpeper car accident lawyer today at 540-825-6046 or 800-741-1012 for more information.
