The consequences for a DUI conviction in Tennessee can be quite severe. You may be imprisoned and fined. Your insurance rates will skyrocket. Your license will probably be suspended. At Banks and Jones, our skilled criminal defense lawyers assert every defense possible, including challenging the grounds for being stopped and the validity of any chemical tests such as breathalyzer tests.

One possible defense is that you were not intoxicated. The signs of intoxication that an officer observed may have been due to an illness. Your illness should be a valid defense against a DUI charge.

What are some of the signs of intoxication that police officers look for?

Signs of intoxication often cited by police officers when making a DUI arrest include:

• Slurred or incoherent speech
• A smell of alcohol on the driver or from the car
• Difficulty getting the driver’s license, registration, and insurance information
• Watery or bloodshot eyes
• Weaving, speeding, driving too slowly, running through stop signs, and other traffic violations
• Lack of balance
• Slow responses to questions
• Difficulty leaving the vehicle
• Sleepiness

Generally, if a Knoxville police officer observes a driver with any of these signs, the officer will give the driver a field sobriety test. Even many sober drivers have difficulty with a field sobriety test. If you have a medical condition, passing the field sobriety test can be nearly impossible. The officer could arrest you on just their observations and your failure to pass a field sobriety test, without even giving you a breathalyzer test.

There are also some medical conditions that may cause a driver to fail a breathalyzer test, which could also lead to a DUI arrest.

Some common medical conditions that could be mistaken for intoxication

There are many different physical and mental conditions that may match some or all of the common signs of intoxication. These include:

• Traumatic brain injuries.  Moderate to severe brain injuries can cause speech difficulties, fatigue, memory and concentration problems, sensory difficulties, agitation, coordination problems, and many other symptoms that a police officer might reasonably think are signs of intoxication.
• Various neurological conditions, including cerebral palsy, dementia, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and other disorders.
• Diabetes is due to low blood sugar. Signs of diabetes that may mimic intoxication include dizziness, slurred speech, and being disoriented. In addition, the high levels of ketones caused by diabetes may result in an improper reading on a breathalyzer test.
• A police officer who observes a driver who has epilepsy or is having a seizure may mistake their lack of balance and difficulty for intoxication, not the driver’s epilepsy.

Please note that while these medical conditions should be a defense against a DUI charge, your condition should be reviewed with your physician to determine if it is safe for you to drive.

Medical conditions and field sobriety tests

There are three standard field sobriety tests:

• The walk-and-test.
• The one-leg stand test.
• The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test.

Police officers may not be able to distinguish your failure to adequately perform these tests from your medical symptoms. For example, a key element in the walk-and-turn test and the one-leg stand test is your ability to maintain your balance. A lack of balance is a common symptom for people with traumatic brain injuries and many other medical disorders. Other symptoms that could cause drivers to fail a field sobriety test (and that could also be due to a medical condition) include taking too much time to perform the tests, not following instructions, asking unusual questions, stumbling, and slurred speech.

At Banks and Jones, we work to show that your field sobriety test failures were actually due to your medical condition.

Health disorders that might affect a breathalyzer test

Most DUI arrests include the use of a breathalyzer test by the police. Generally, drivers give their implied consent to take a breathalyzer test. Your refusal to take the test could be used against you in a DUI case. Your license could be suspended.

A few medical disorders that may result in a false positive of a breathalyzer test include:

• Digestive disorders such as heartburn, acid-reflux, and other disorders or diseases may cause a false positive of a breathalyzer test.
• Conditions like diabetes, hypoglycemia, and high-protein diets may cause false positives on a breathalyzer test.
• Some medications may also impact the results of a breathalyzer test.

Medications that could give a false “positive” on a breathalyzer test include certain cold medications, asthma inhalers, medications for toothaches, and other medications.

What proactive steps you can take

Instead of being forced to take field sobriety tests, breathalyzer tests, and answering a police officer’s questions, wearing a medical alert device such as a bracelet can help the officer immediately see that you have a medical disorder. If you have any symptoms while driving, you should pull off the road and call for medical assistance.

If the officer insists that you comply with his tests, you’ll need to be prepared to show you weren’t intoxicated and that you were just experiencing symptoms from your disorder. As mentioned, you could also refuse to take the tests, though that could result in a suspension of your driving privileges for failure to comply with Tennessee’s implied consent requirements. The failure to take the tests could also be introduced in your DUI criminal case. Generally, you should remain silent and call our skilled DUI defense lawyers as quickly as possible while your memory is the freshest.

At Banks and Jones, our experienced Knoxville criminal defense lawyers have been fighting for the accused for nearly 30 years. We’ll work with your doctors to verify your medical condition. If necessary, we’ll arrange to have your doctor testify in court about why the symptoms you exhibited when you were pulled over are due to your medical condition and not to intoxication.

To assert all possible defenses when you’re charged with a DUI offense, please call us or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation.