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| Can You be Denied a Medical Certificate because of Teenage Angst Suffered Years Ago? | Oct '06 |
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| By Robert B. Schultz, Attorney at Law |
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Teenage agnst and faking hallucinations can make you ineligible for an FAA medical certificate as an adult. This was the holding of a recent NTSB decision, Petition of Sean Allen Lenser, Docket SM-4690.
Airman medical standards are contained in FAR Part 67. Section 67.307 lists certain disqualifying mental conditions for a third class medical certificate. An airman may be denied a medical certificate if he or she is diagnosed with any of the listed mental conditions or has an established medical history of a disqualifying mental condition. Section 67.307(c) is a catchall for any other "personality disorder, neurosis, or other mental condition that the Federal Air Surgeon finds (1) makes the person unable to safely perform the duties or exercise the privileges of the airman certificate applied for or held, or (2) may reasonably be expected, for the maximum duration of the airman medical certificate applied for or held, to make the person unable to perform those duties or exercise those privileges." This is based on the case history and appropriate, qualified medical judgment relating to the condition involved.
In this case, an FAA medical examiner first denied the petitioner's third-class medical certificate based on a current clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder and the catchall "other mental conditions" that the medical examiner concluded would make the petitioner unable to perform his duties safely. The examiner later withdrew the current clinical diagnosis, apparently finding him mentally fit to fly, yet denied his certificate based on "an established medical history or clinical diagnosis of a psychosis that does not meet the mental standard for third-class medical certification."
The petitioner challenged the denial of his medical, and the case was tried before an NTSB administrative law judge. The judge reversed the medical examiner's finding, holding that "petitioner's medical history was not significant enough to render him ineligible for a medical certificate." The FAA appealed to the board, which reversed the law judge, resulting in denial of the petitioner's medical certificate.
The trial record indicated that as a teenager, the petitioner was involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric facility. His medical file contained repeated references to symptoms of psychosis and bipolar disorder. In addition, his file also included multiple references to hallucinations. The petitioner received psychiatric medication in 1998 and 1999, but no longer needs such medication.
The petitioner argued that he didn't have an established history or clinical diagnosis of psychosis; he said he "dishonestly described hallucinations and other thought processes that never occurred, in order to receive attention as a teenager." He argued that his symptoms at the time of his admission to the psychiatric facility have been recently diagnosed as an "adjustment disorder with bipolar-like symptoms secondary to an adverse effect from medication." In other words, it was the Prozac he was taking. These symptoms occurred for only a short period of time between 1998 and 1999, when he was a teenager. Since then, he has successfully completed a two-year college degree and has held a full-time job.
The board held that the absence of any current symptoms of psychosis or bipolar disorder wasn't persuasive enough to satisfy his burden of proving that he was eligible for a medical certificate. The board stated, "Regardless of a petitioner's current condition, a psychotic episode or psychosis is sufficient to deny a petitioner's application for a medical certificate," and that the "petitioner's medical records contain multiple reports referring to hallucinations (which, under the regulations, would be sufficient to constitute a history of psychosis), and other symptoms of psychosis and bipolar disorder." The board said that the "petitioner's argument that no clinical evidence of psychosis or bipolar disorder exists because no one observed petitioner while he was hallucinating" wasn't persuasive. The regulations "do not require observation of a petitioner while he or she experiences such symptoms"; instead, the applicable regulation requires petitioners to have "no established medical history or clinical diag
nosis of psychosis or bipolar disorder."
The real reason the board denied the petitioner's medical certificate may be the apparent conflict in his argument. On the one hand, he said he had no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of either psychosis or bipolar disorder. On the other hand, he attempted to excuse the evidence of psychosis or bipolar disorder by stating that he was dishonest during his psychiatric evaluations, and that any symptoms he experienced were the result of his ingestion of Prozac (for depression). The board said simply that "the regulations regarding psychosis and bipolar disorder do not provide a caveat for situations wherein symptoms of psychosis or bipolar disorder are the result of a pharmaceutical remedy."
It appears that the FAA and NTSB aren't very sympathetic to teenage angst.
Robert B. Schultz practices law in Denver and specializes in aviation (and space) law nationwide. He can be reached at bob.schultz@airportjournals.com and welcomes your comments and questions.
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