.09%.10% DMV Breath Test Win – GERD Defense

Our client was pulled over for DUI after failing to maintain her lane on the freeway. Her driving was pretty good. On the CHP dash cam, she appears coherent and sober. She told the CHP officer she had 2 beers hours earlier, but blew a .09%/.10% on the breathalyzer. This didn’t really add up. The client did not look like a .10% on camera, and 2 beers would not give her a .10% hours later. We learned that the client had previously been diagnosed with GERD. People with GERD should not take breath tests, because the breath tests end up measuring alcohol not in that person’s blood, but the alcohol coming up from their stomach as a result of the GERD. This is not proper, as alcohol in a person’s stomach is not blood alcohol, and not impairing his or her ability to drive in any way. After presenting the client’s medical records and testimony from an expert forensic toxicologist at the DMV hearing, the suspension from the DMV was set aside.