Legal ramifications for physicians of patients who drive with hepatic encephalopathy.

Background & Aims: Hepatic encephalopathy, a spectrum of neuropsychiatric abnormalities that can occur in patients with liver dysfunction, negatively affects driving performance, but no study has examined legal ramifications. We studied state requirements for reporting hepatic encephalopathy and investigated whether lawsuits have been completed against physicians or patients for motor vehicle accidents that were related to hepatic encephalopathy.

Methods: We contacted motor vehicle departments from all 50 states and examined motor vehicle codes and legal databases to search for hepatic encephalopathy-related lawsuits.