As Many as 6,600 Truckers’ Licenses Threatened by Fake Physicals

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently indicted a chiropractor, who provided DOT physicals for commercial drivers, with fraud. The man was approved to provide the medical examiner certificates required for commercial driver’s licenses, and federal prosecutors claim he handed them out to around 6,600 drivers — without actually performing the tests.

The indictment claims the chiropractor made fraudulent entries on at least eight medical examiner certificates for commercial drivers. He has pled not guilty. But what about the drivers whose medical certifications were faked?

According to an article in Claims Journal, the FMCSA has simply revoked all of the medical examiner certificates produced by the chiropractor in question. The affected drivers, who come from 48 states, will be notified by mail and will then have 30 days to get a new DOT physical and medical qualification or their commercial driver’s licenses will be revoked. Is that enough?

Truck-stop medical provider was 2500+ times as popular as average?

The accused chiropractor provided ME certificates for commercial drivers, so it seemed convenient for him to operate out of a large truck stop on I-285 near Atlanta. The DOT has allowed medical providers to operate out of several large truck stops.

The prime location wasn’t enough to explain the suspiciously large volume of his business, however. He drew the notice of prosecutors because he was performing an average of 360 DOT physicals per month, when other providers were averaging 13 or 14.

Undercover agents were sent in seeking physicals, and prosecutors claim he made false entries on forms and even skipped required tests — including vision and hearing screenings.

The DOT physical doesn’t require you to be an athlete. It’s meant to ensure that commercial drivers are physically healthy enough to drive for a living. Nevertheless, a truly remarkable number of CDL drivers chose to be evaluated by this particular chiropractor. Let’s hope they have nothing to hide.