Originally Posted by
Clinton McKenzie
Might be worth you reading through the thread, Andrewr.If you refer to earlier posts in this thread, you will see that specialist’s letter said, among other things: My professional opinion is that I do not consider you a risk of incapacitation now that the lesion has been treated. Is that not a statement of the risk of incapacitation?
That is definitely a statement of the risk of incapacitation. However, it is undone a bit by the additional opinions that you don't meet the standards for class 1 (Why not, if you are not at risk of incapacitation?) and the suggestion that you are fit for day VFR (again, why not a normal class 2 if you are not at risk of incapacitation?).
This is why people recommend giving Avmed what they ask for, but don't volunteer extra information. Extra information confuses things and in this case throws doubt on the statement on incapacitation that Avmed were looking for.
Originally Posted by
Clinton McKenzie
Gosh, Andrew. Are my specialists incompetent? None of them has advised that I should neither drive nor fly.
Probably every doctor in Australia has patients that technically, legally, shouldn't be driving, but they judge that the risk is too low to be worth the inconvenience to the patient in our car-dependent society so it is never discussed. Basically a case of don't ask, don't tell. If you did ask, they might be obliged to refer to the Austroads standards, and advise that you should not be driving. (I suspect you are also qualified to make a distinction between should not and must not.)
Originally Posted by
Clinton McKenzie
And I have to say that the concept of Avmed expressing opinions about objective risks of sudden incapacity is laughable. I’m sure Avmed does it, but the chances of those opinions being ballpark accurate are vanishingly small.
I'm sure that is true in many cases, but that is their job and that is the system we need to work in. Surgery involving the blood supply to the brain probably does have a real, relatively high risk of sudden incapacitation compared to many of the areas where people have trouble with Avmed.
You dismissed Nowluke's post because it was a first post, but to me it looks like an expert evaluation of your situation. I think a careful re-reading would help you to understand your situation WRT Avmed, and help you understand your potential path forward.
(Although I think Nowluke's suggestion of a basic class 2 might be a non-starter, because it appears to me (as a layperson) that you also would not meet the unconditional commercial driving standards.)
Legal challenges to Avmed are likely to be counterproductive, because it locks them into a position and forces them to put together a case to show why they should NOT grant a medical. It means any additional information needs to be much stronger before they will change their position.