Georgia Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Breath test machines are not always accurate; in fact they have many problems. One fault of this device is that it cannot detect the disease GERD, which is a gastroesophageal reflux disease. GERD affects many people and has caused many innocent drivers to be convicted of DUI. Don’t become one of them. Hire a qualified DUI defense attorney at HTW&W to represent your case.
How does GERD affect my breath test results?
People who have GERD have a constant flow of alcohol that travels from the stomach to the mouth in the form of a gas. Breath test machines are designed to measure the alcohol from your breath, which comes from your lungs. When alcoholic gas travels from your stomach up into your lungs, the breath test machine will get a much higher reading and one that is not accurate. This is the fault of the breath test machine. It cannot detect that alcohol is coming from two different sources in your body. It only detects the amount of alcohol found in your breath.
The other unfortunate thing about GERD disease is that many people don’t know they suffer from it and simply blow into the breath test machine. Many people take heartburn and indigestion relief medicines because they think they ate or drank something that just upset their stomach. In reality, they are suffering from GERD disease.
If after reading this you feel you may suffer from GERD disease, immediately discuss this with your attorney. Whether you have a history of this disease with your doctor or your attorney needs to send you to a doctor for testing, your medical evidence can be used in court to fight your DUI breath test results.
GERD disease has been known to cause .03% blood alcohol content to register as .13%, which is higher than Georgia’s legal limit of .08%. This miscalculation only increases as your actual blood alcohol content increases.
If you have been arrested for DUI because of a “per se” violation due to your breath test results, don’t wait to contact a DUI defense attorney. The more time you allow your attorney to prepare your case and send you for testing the better your chances are at fighting your test results in court.
