In Maryland, driving with a blood alcohol content higher than the legal limit is considered a criminal offense. A criminal attorney in Worcester County, MD has a long list of strategies that can be effective in the defense of people accused of this crime. A breathalyzer test may indicate an illegal BAC, but the subsequent blood test may find a lower amount. Law enforcement officials consider this simply to be a normal time-related reduction in blood alcohol, but a variety of issues can call breath tests into question.
Low-Carb Diets
For instance, a person who drinks alcohol while consuming a low-carbohydrate diet may have a falsely high breath test. That’s because these individuals may be in a state known as ketosis, in which the body burns stored fats for energy. Drinking alcohol during ketosis can prompt the body to generate acetone in response, which increases the alcohol detected in a breath test reading.
A criminal attorney in Worcester County, MD will need solid evidence that the client was indeed eating this type of diet when the DUI was issued. That might include testimony from witnesses or verified participation in a medical weight loss program.
Diabetes
People with certain health conditions are also vulnerable to inaccurate breath tests that indicate a higher BAC. This can happen to someone with uncontrolled diabetes, for instance. High blood sugar sends the body into ketosis. In addition, a diabetic can experience abnormally low blood sugar due to taking medication without consuming enough sugar to balance the effects. That also causes the body to produce acetone, which can lead to a false positive in a breath test.
GERD
A person with gastroesophageal reflux disease also can have a higher number in an alcohol breath test. GERD causes stomach acid to rise into the esophagus. Alcohol gases produced in the stomach make the BAC higher than it should be. GERD can be diagnosed by a doctor, with that medical record introduced by a lawyer such as Marc A. Zeve, PA, Attorney At Law, as evidence in favor of the defendant.
