Los Angeles DUI Attorney Claims Diabetics Often Falsely Convicted of Drunk Driving

Los Angeles DUI Attorney Claims Diabetics Often Falsely Convicted of Drunk
Driving

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

The Law Offices of Lawrence Taylor, +1-562-989-4774, press@duicentral.com
(ATTN: Daniel Stanton)