Auto-Brewery Syndrome
Although rarely applicable, a diagnosis of auto-brewery syndrome might provide a defense to DUI charges in Florida. Auto-brewery syndrome is a bizarre and rare medical condition that causes the body to produce alcohol.
The condition, also known as “gut fermentation syndrome” or “endogenous ethanol fermentation,” often goes undiagnosed for years. Some people are diagnosed after a DUI arrest when their breath or blood alcohol concentration is higher than expected.
To successfully present the defense at trial, the person accused of DUI should obtain a diagnosis from a physician or pharmacologist. Then, a medical professional can provide expert testimony at a pre-trial hearing or trial to explain the diagnosis and its consequences.
What is Auto-Brewery Syndrome?
The syndrome causes the body’s digestive system to produce ethanol through endogenous fermentation. One pathogen for the syndrome is saccharomyces cerevisiae, a type of yeast.
Recent studies have shown that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease can be accelerated by Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria fermenting carbohydrates to alcohol in the gut. The syndrome might also be linked to patients with short bowel syndrome after surgical resection.
Another form of the syndrome prevents patients from excreting or breaking down alcohol normally because of liver abnormalities. The liver abnormalities might cause symptoms of auto-brewery syndrome even when the amount of alcohol produced in the body is too small to intoxicate a healthy individual.
Symptoms of the syndrome are seemingly random states of intoxication with disorientation, dizziness, or being unsteady. To diagnose the disorder, patients are often instructed to repeat blood or breath testing throughout the day to document the alcohol concentration fluctuations.
Signs and Symptoms of Auto-Brewery Syndrome
The signs and symptoms of auto-brewery syndrome might include the following:
- elevated blood alcohol levels;
- clues of impairment normally associated with alcohol intoxication;
- bloodshot and watery eyes;
- slurred or mumbled speech;
- dizziness;
- problems with divided attention tasks;
- sudden changes in mood;
- being unsteady; and
- belching.
In some cases, a person can document the fact that they did not consume any alcoholic beverage but still have a blood or breath alcohol level that hovers well over .000.
Auto-Brewery Syndrome as a DUI Defense
The auto-brewery syndrome might lead to a DUI arrest since it causes patients to have a breath or blood alcohol concentration over the legal limit even though no alcoholic beverage was consumed.
The distinction is important because Florida’s DUI statute, Section 316.193(1)(a), defines DUI as being under the influence of “alcoholic beverages.” The requirement that the alcohol come from a beverage would distinguish it from alcohol produced within the body by a medical condition.
For DUI cases prosecuted under Section 316.193(1)(b) or (c), it must be proven that the person’s blood or breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more. But even in these cases, an “involuntary intoxication defense” could be asserted.
Courts in Florida have found that the involuntary intoxication defense applied to DUI cases. See Carter v. State, 710 So.2d 110 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); Devers-Lopez v. State, 710 So.2d 720 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). For those same reasons, the auto-brewery syndrome should be admissible as a defense at trial.
To find out more about the best defenses for DUI cases in Tampa, FL, contact an attorney at Sammis Law Firm.
Call 813-250-0500.
This article was last updated on Friday, December 22, 2023.
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