Studies have shown that people who have ADHD in West Virginia and across the nation are more likely to be involved in car accidents than people who do not have the disorder. This is because the symptoms of the disorder may lead ADHD sufferers to be distracted while they are driving.

A recent study that was conducted by a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden showed that people who take medications for ADHD are less likely to cause distracted driving accidents than are those who are unmedicated. The study, which was published in JAMA Psychiatry, examined insurance reports from 2.3 million Americans over a time period of 10 years.

During that period, the researcher compared the accident rates during months in which people filled their prescriptions versus months in which they failed to fill them. Men were 38 percent less likely and women were 42 percent less likely to have accidents when they took their medications than when they did not. The researcher also compared the experimental group with a control group of people who did not have ADHD and found that those with ADHD were likelier to be in accidents.

The study underscores the importance of taking ADHD medication as it is prescribed in order to prevent car accidents. People who have ADHD and who fail to take their medications may cause accidents because of negligent driving. When they do, the victims might want to consider filing personal injury lawsuits against the drivers for their negligence. Lawsuits may help the victims to recover damages for their losses by holding the drivers liable. Personal injury lawyers may be able to uncover evidence that the drivers had ADHD and failed to fill their prescriptions, leading to the accidents’ occurrence. This might help the victims to recover compensation in fair amounts.