Los Angeles DUI Attorney Claims Diabetics Often Falsely Convicted of Drunk Driving
Posted on: Monday, 21 September 2009, 07:30 CDT
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Los Angeles DUI lawyer Lawrence Taylor, known nationally as the "Dean of DUI Attorneys", claims that many citizens accused - and convicted - of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) are actually innocent. Their crime: diabetes.
Taylor, the author of the best-selling legal treatise Drunk Driving Defense, claims that the symptoms of a diabetic with hypoglycemia (low sugar level) resemble those of alcohol intoxication. Further, he claims, diabetics have a chemical in their breath which causes breathalyzers to register high blood-alcohol levels.
The Los Angeles DUI attorney refers to the phenomenon as the "counterfeit DUI".
The symptoms of hypoglycemia are well-known: slow and slurred speech, poor balance, impaired motor control, staggering, drowsiness, flushed face, disorientation - in other words, the classic symptoms of alcohol intoxication. This individual will look and act like a drunk driver to the officer, Taylor says, and will certainly fail any DUI field sobriety tests.
As one medical expert has observed, "Hypoglycemia is frequently seen in connection with driving error on this nation's roads and highways ... Even more frequent are unjustified DUIs or DWIs, stemming from hypoglycemic symptoms that can closely mimic those of a drunk driver." From "Hypoglycemia: Driving Under the Influence" in 8(1) Medical and Toxicological Information Review.
Nor will a DUI breath test clear him, Taylor claims. The Los Angeles DUI lawyer points out that breathalyzers don't actually measure alcohol on the breath. Rather, they use beams of infrared light which are absorbed by any chemical compound in the breath that contains the methyl group in its molecular structure. The machine is programmed to assume that the compound is "probably" alcohol.
Unfortunately, thousands of compounds contain the methyl group and can register as alcohol. One of these is acetone. And a well-documented by-product of hypoglycemia is a state called ketoacidosis, which causes the production of acetones in the breath. In other words, the DUI attorney says, the breathalyzer will read significant blood alcohol levels where there may be little or none. This has been repeatedly documented in scientific studies such as Brick, "Diabetes, Breath Acetone and Breathalyzer Accuracy: A Case Study", 9(1) Alcohol, Drugs and Driving.
How often innocent diabetics falsely convicted of DUI? Taylor points out that roughly one in seven sober drivers on the road suffers from diabetes.
For more information, visit the law firm's website at http://losangeles.duicentral.com/ . Inquiries may be directed to the firm's main Los Angeles office: 562.989.4774.
About THE LAW OFFICES OF LAWRENCE TAYLOR
With a national reputation and the highest professional ratings, The Law Offices of Lawrence Taylor has specialized in DUI defense exclusively for 29 years. The firm's California DUI defense attorneys serve clients statewide from offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Riverside and San Francisco.
SOURCE The Law Offices of Lawrence Taylor
Source: PR Newswire
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