Mahowald M W, Schenck C H
Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415, USA.
Neurol Clin. 1999 May;17(2):215-34. doi: 10.1016/s0733-8619(05)70126-2.
Sleepiness and sleep disorders are increasingly raising interesting and important medical-legal issues in three areas: violent or injurious behavior arising from the sleep period, accidents or errors in judgment caused by sleepiness behind the wheel or in the workplace, and disability determinations caused by sleepiness-induced work impairment. Sleep-related violence may be caused by many conditions, most of which are diagnosable and treatable. Legal issues raised by these behaviors are usually enigmatic. The nature of such behaviors may be extremely complex, and documenting that a given violent act was caused by such a behavior, after the fact, may be difficult. Guidelines for the medical-legal evaluation of such behaviors have been developed and are evolving. Culpability determination in sleepiness-related industrial or motor vehicle accidents is in the developmental stage, and varies by jurisdiction. Disability determination for workplace sleepiness caused by sleep disorders is in its infancy, and poses a challenge, given the erroneous but pervasive societal attitude that sleepiness is a manifestation of laziness, depression, sloth, work-avoidance behavior, or a defect of character.
睡眠期间出现的暴力或伤害行为、因驾车时或工作场所嗜睡导致的事故或判断失误，以及由嗜睡引起的工作能力受损导致的残疾判定。与睡眠相关的暴力可能由多种情况引起，其中大多数是可诊断和可治疗的。这些行为引发的法律问题通常很棘手。此类行为的性质可能极其复杂，事后证明某一特定暴力行为是由这种行为引起的可能很困难。针对此类行为的医学法律评估指南已经制定并在不断发展。与嗜睡相关的工业事故或机动车事故中的罪责判定尚处于发展阶段，且因司法管辖区而异。因睡眠障碍导致工作场所嗜睡的残疾判定尚处于起步阶段，鉴于认为嗜睡是懒惰、抑郁、怠惰、逃避工作行为或性格缺陷表现的错误但普遍存在的社会观念，这构成了一项挑战。
