Brian Vickers Returned to NASCAR for the Daytona 500 after Suffering from Deep Vein Thrombosis
Brian Vickers has suffered from several episodes of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in recent years, causing him to miss racing, along with the attractive racing purses, for months at a time. The treatment for DVT requires taking blood thinners, which increase the risk of bleeding thus keeping him off the track. Vickers’ time off the track could be compensated by an individual disability insurance policy, which would pay him monthly benefits to cover time out from NASCAR due to his blood clot condition.
DVT is when a blood clot forms in a deep vein, typically in the legs. In Vickers case, it became a pulmonary embolism since the blood clot broke off and traveled through the bloodstream to his lungs. This condition is extremely serious and can damage organs in the body including the lungs (What is Deep Vein Thrombosis: National Institutes of Health, October 28, 2011).
“The benefits of an individual disability insurance policy can be extremely valuable in these circumstances due to the amount of time Vickers was forced to step back from racing,” states Frank N. Darras, America’s disability insurance lawyer to the pros. “Monthly benefits from a policy would keep him and his family comfortable without having to dig into their savings. A life insurance policy could also be helpful if a pulmonary embolism goes untreated and ends in the tragic loss of life.”
Vickers was extremely lucky when he decided to go to the hospital to have doctors check out his chest pain. If he had waited any longer his lungs could have been severely damaged or the clot could even have cost him his life. Vickers is now back to racing after dealing with the latest blood clot episode. He was able to participate in the Daytona 500 but did not place as high as he would have liked.
“We had a good car, but just got caught up in one of the wrecks. A couple of those guys were just racing really aggressive and bouncing around, moving a lot. I knew it was a matter of time. There were a couple of times right before those last two wrecks that I thought about dropping back out of the pack. I had a feeling that they were coming — the one we avoided and the one we were in. The problem was there was no second pack to go to. Our fear was if we drop back that we would go a lap down as much as the race had been going green. We were kind of stuck there,” commented Vickers after the Daytona 500 (Brian Vickers – The 10 Hours of Daytona: Racing News, Februrary 24, 2014).
“I’m sure Vickers is happy to be racing again despite not placing among the top drivers. As he knows, medical emergencies can happen suddenly and without much warning. An individual disability insurance policy could have helped his family cover expenses like rent, utilities, and groceries while he recovered from his condition. All NASCAR drivers should get in touch with an experienced disability insurance lawyer who can advise them on how much private insurance they need,” says Darras.