Arrêt de travail (sick note) and car insurance

Finance, Taxes, Banking, Insurance and Retirement
1
I am currently on arrêt de travail following a surgery that would in no way impact my ability to drive, but I was told by a nurse that if I drove and got in an accident insurance would not cover me.

Is this true? I have a gabillion Drs appointments coming up and I live quite far from the hospital in a village with poor public transit connections in the direction of the hospital, and my spouse works full-time and does not drive. It would be nice to take the car from time to time if possible.

2
I have heard something like this before. Best to ask your specific car and accident insurance companies.

3
I hope your operation went well and that you recover quickly.

Car insurance often excludes any accident in which the person at fault is assumed to have been grossly negligent.

Just a thought - Being on certain medications can dull one's senses similar to being drunk, or can make a person too tired to drive safely. If you have an accident while taking such medications, it's possible a police officer would say you were being negligent.

4
Nurse can say what she wants or thinks to be true; speak to your doctor and get him give you a signed note. End of problem

5
Yes, it's possible. Talk to your doc.

It's impossible to tell with the details you provide, and you're probably wise with withholding what goes beyond.

6
Yes and a good friend of mine was unfortunate to be an example. He had broken a small bone in the area of his thumb and his doctor decided that there was no need for a plaster or bandage. He was on his way to the doctors for a check up when the accident occurred and they refused to cover it [Police report disclosed where he was heading].

So best ask your insurance company.

7
It does not matter what the doctor says, it’s what the insurance company says that counts. Your doctor won’t cover you if he gets it wrong.

8
Driving to hospital = unfit to drive?

Unfit to drive because of an injury is different to driving after a surgery which has no effect or could not have an effect on driving.

Driving against doctor's orders is of course not a good idea but I don't think doctors share this information.

If it's not obvious or you haven't been told you shouldn't drive then I don't see that there could be any issue.

9
I also don't get this thread.

What if one has surgery and the surgeon clears person to drive after 1 week however one is still on sick leave. If a doctor deems a person fit to drive how can insurance claim one was not?

10
I also don’t get this. I had recent surgeries that would in no way impact my ability to operate a motor vehicle. However, my prescription for pain medication came with the instructions/warning to not drive while on that medication. This is of course reasonable and to not follow those instructions would be seriously negligent. However, once I came off the drugs, there is no reason why I would be considered to be impaired in my abilities and therefore, no reasonable legal reason why my insurance should not cover me.

This is in no way related to my long term recovery, which is what the sick leave is for. Or are all the people written off of work for stress also forbidden from legally driving?

11
If a Doctor gives you the ok to drive then it will take precedence over insurance, with the caveat we do not know the exact wording of the contract.