GERD. What is it? If you have it, you know what it is. Gastric Esophageal Reflux Disease. In plain language, where the tube that goes from your mouth to your stomach, the esophagus. When your food content goes into your stomach there’s a gate or a valve that should remain closed. People that have GERD have a leaky valve. A valve that doesn’t close all the time. Food content or food gasses will repeat back up the esophagus into your mouth.
What happens when you take a breathalyzer, a DWI chemical test, is you blow into a tube. If you have GERD and you blow into the tube the air is contaminated. The air is not only coming from your lungs; it is coming from your stomach. In your stomach would be alcohol vapors that would mix unfairly with the alcohol blood infused lung air. The sample is contaminated. You get a false high reading that’s not valid. There are a lot of issues with the chemical tests that police administer if you are affected by Gastric Esophageal Reflux Disease. Many people don’t even know that they have this disease and just pass it off as heartburn. If you are noticing some symptoms of GERD, it would be very valuable to seek consultation from a medical professional so you have this defense in the future if you ever get pulled over for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. If you are aware of GERD but were unaware that you could use it as a defense in a court of law, seek counsel from your attorney.
If you are in need of legal counsel in New York State, please feel free to contact Grunwald & Seman, P.C. and we would be happy to assist you.
