The FMCSA found two medical examiners weren’t performing proper physicals on commercial drivers.
More than 15,000 commercial motor vehicle drivers will need to get new medical exams before May 10 after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration took action against two Houston-area chiropractors it found weren’t complying with federal commercial motor vehicle driver medical exam regulations.
The FMCSA issued Notices of Proposed Removal from the National Registry of Medical Examiners of Jenny Le and Dustin Mai for failure to adequately perform USDOT physical qualification examinations of interstate commercial motor vehicle operators.
On April 10, FMCSA voided over 15,000 unexpired Medical Examiner’s Certificates issued by Le and Mai between March 2023 and March 2025 — an action that affected 15,225 commercial motor vehicle drivers.
Interstate truck drivers are required to take a physical qualification examination and receive a Medical Examiner’s Certificate every other year to confirm that they are healthy enough to safely perform their job.
Since 2014, medical exams performed on interstate commercial motor vehicle drivers may only be performed by examiners listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME).
Why Two Medical Examiners Came Under FMCSA Scrutiny
After identifying concerns about the high volume of physical qualification examinations conducted by the two medical examiners, the DOT worked with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to investigate.
That investigation found that Le and Dr. Mai failed to correctly apply required standards in determining that drivers are physically qualified to operate a CMV.
FMCSA notes that this does not immediately impact a driver’s ability to continue operating a CMV, but drivers who received their MECs from Dr. Le or Dr. Mai must obtain a new certificate by May 10, 2025, from one of more than 38,000 active medical examiners listed on the National Registry.
If a driver fails to obtain a new certificate by the identified date, the driver’s respective state drivers licensing agency will initiate procedures to downgrade the driver’s CDL.
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