Fuellmich R
Institute for Medical Law and Pharmaceutical Law, University of Göttingen, Germany.
Med Law. 1995;14(1-2):23-35.
The dangers of medication for traffic safety have been vastly underestimated in modern society. The widespread and ever-growing use of medical drugs - in particular psychopharmaca - without a thought given to how these drugs may affect the ability to drive a car, gives a clear indication that it is time to take a close look at the problem. This article focuses on the civil liability under German law for traffic accidents resulting from the use of medication. Basically, three potential defendants come to mind when one searches for addresses of claims for damages. Apart from the driver himself or herself, these are the doctor who prescribed the drug and the manufacturer who manufactured the drug. This article argues that - at least from a German law perspective - in many cases it will ultimately make more sense to include the doctor (on a negligence liability theory) and the drug manufacturer (on a strict liability theory) as defendants in an action for damages than merely to go after the obvious perpetrator, namely the driver.
在现代社会，药物对交通安全的危害被大大低估了。医疗药物，尤其是精神药物的广泛且不断增加的使用，却没有人考虑这些药物可能如何影响驾驶汽车的能力，这清楚地表明是时候仔细审视这个问题了。本文聚焦于德国法律下因使用药物导致交通事故的民事责任。基本上，当寻找损害赔偿的索赔对象时，会想到三个潜在的被告。除了司机本人之外，还有开药的医生和生产药物的制造商。本文认为，至少从德国法律的角度来看，在许多情况下，将医生（基于过失责任理论）和药物制造商（基于严格责任理论）列为损害赔偿诉讼的被告，最终比仅仅追究明显的肇事者即司机更有意义。
