Acid reflux can affect a Georgia DUI breath test under certain circumstances. If reflux or GERD causes alcohol-containing stomach contents to reach the mouth or upper airway shortly before testing, residual alcohol may interfere with the breath sample and produce a reading that does not accurately reflect alcohol in deep-lung air.
Having GERD does not automatically mean a breath test is inaccurate. Whether reflux may have affected your result depends on when your symptoms occurred, whether alcohol was present in the stomach, and what happened before and during testing.
If you believe reflux affected your test, an Ellijay DUI lawyer can examine the breath-test records, available video, your medical history, and the circumstances surrounding the test.
How Can Acid Reflux Affect a DUI Breath Test in Georgia?
Acid reflux and Georgia DUI breath testing can become an issue when stomach contents containing alcohol travel back into the esophagus, throat, or mouth. A breath-testing instrument is intended to analyze alcohol in exhaled breath. Alcohol remaining in the mouth can potentially interfere with that measurement.
This is commonly referred to as mouth alcohol. Reflux, regurgitation, belching, or vomiting may introduce alcohol into the mouth shortly before a breath sample is given.
GERD alone, however, does not establish that a reading was inaccurate. There must be some factual basis for connecting the condition or a reflux episode to the breath sample at issue.
What Is Mouth Alcohol in a Georgia DUI Breath Test?
Mouth alcohol is alcohol left in the mouth or upper airway rather than alcohol in a deep-lung breath. It can result from recent drinking, belching, regurgitation, vomiting, or reflux.
Because a breath test measures alcohol in exhaled breath, mouth alcohol can contaminate the sample and potentially raise the reported result.
If mouth alcohol is part of your defense, evidence of symptoms or reflux close to the time of testing can be more useful than a GERD diagnosis alone.
Does Georgia Require an Observation Period Before a DUI Breath Test?
Georgia’s current breath-testing regulations do not expressly identify a fixed observation period as part of the state’s approved analytical method. The regulations instead require evidential breath testing to use an approved instrument, be performed by a properly permitted operator, and involve an instrument that has been periodically checked for calibration and operation.
Georgia courts have discussed observation or deprivation periods in cases involving mouth alcohol, including a 20-minute period associated with breath-testing procedures. Whether the way a test was conducted creates a reliability issue depends on the facts surrounding that test.
Events that may warrant closer review include:
- Burping, regurgitation, or vomiting shortly before a breath sample.
- Drinking, eating, smoking, chewing gum, or placing another substance in the mouth before testing.
- Reflux symptoms documented on body-camera or booking-area video.
- An instrument message or testing irregularity associated with the breath sample.
- Differences between successive test results that may require further examination.
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Can GERD or a Hiatal Hernia Cause a High Breath Test Reading?
GERD and hiatal hernias can allow stomach contents to move more easily into the esophagus. If those contents contain alcohol and reach the mouth or upper airway shortly before testing, they may lead to breath-sample contamination.
Scientific research does not show that everyone with GERD will produce an inaccurate breath reading. Studies have found that properly conducted breath testing can produce reliable results in people with reflux, while other research has documented circumstances in which gastric alcohol may contribute to an elevated breath measurement.
For that reason, GERD affecting a DUI breath test in Georgia is usually a fact-specific issue. The timing of drinking, reflux symptoms, test sequence, video evidence, and medical history may all be relevant.
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What Evidence Can Challenge a Georgia Breath Test When You Have Acid Reflux?
Evidence connecting your reflux symptoms to the time of testing is generally more useful than simply showing that you have GERD. Medical documentation can establish the condition, while video, test records, and witness observations may help establish what happened immediately before the samples were taken.
Records that may be useful include:
- Medical records showing a diagnosis of GERD, reflux disease, or a hiatal hernia.
- Records showing treatment or medication used for the condition.
- Body-camera, patrol-car, or booking-area video showing coughing, belching, regurgitation, vomiting, or visible discomfort.
- Statements from witnesses who observed reflux symptoms near the time of testing.
- Breath-test printouts and electronic records.
- Records concerning the instrument’s inspection and calibration history.
- Notes or reports prepared by the breath-test operator.
- Analysis from a qualified forensic toxicologist when the science behind the breath sample is disputed.
The strongest analysis usually compares these pieces of evidence rather than relying on any one record alone.
Should I Ask for a Blood Test if I Have GERD?
You generally cannot choose a blood test instead of the state-administered test selected by the arresting officer. Under Georgia’s implied-consent law, the officer designates the initial chemical test or tests.
After submitting to the requested state test, however, you are entitled to request additional chemical testing of your blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substances at your own expense and by qualified personnel of your choosing. If reflux raises concerns about a breath test result, an independent blood test may provide useful additional evidence.
A request for independent testing should be made clearly. Georgia law requires law enforcement to make reasonable efforts to accommodate a valid request, although the circumstances surrounding each request may affect how it is later evaluated.
What Should I Do if Acid Reflux Occurs During Breath Testing?
If you burp, regurgitate, vomit, or experience noticeable reflux while waiting to provide a breath sample, you can state clearly what happened. Creating a contemporaneous record of the symptom may become relevant if the reliability of the test is later questioned.
You can also tell the officer that you have GERD or another diagnosed reflux condition if it relates directly to what you are experiencing. You do not need to speculate about whether the condition changed the test result.
If you want an independent chemical test after submitting to the state-administered test, make that request clearly and as soon as reasonably possible. The request itself, the officer’s response, and any video of the interaction may later become relevant.
Talk to a Georgia DUI Lawyer About an Acid Reflux Breath Test
Whether acid reflux can affect a Georgia DUI breath test will depend on the individual circumstances. It can potentially interfere with a breath sample when reflux brings alcohol from the stomach into the mouth or upper airway, but GERD alone does not prove that a breath-test result is inaccurate.
At Teague Law | Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Lawyers, LLC, we can review the testing records, available video, medical documentation, and circumstances surrounding your arrest to determine whether the breath result can be challenged.
Contact Teague Law today for a free consultation and learn what options may be available in your case.
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