Itsjustme715

Hello, I have a question. My husband was arrested and had a blood test taken instead of taking a breathalizer. He was then fined several hundred dollars. When I asked him what his alcohol level was he said that they needed to send it to a lab. Is this true, and will we get the results in the mail. How can they fine him if they don't know if he was over the limit. When I did pick him up a couple hours later he did not seem under the influence. Thanks for your thoughts.

Ago

They will tell him what his BAL (blood alcohol level) was in court, unless he hires an attorney, then the attorney can find out (or the PD) but yes, they send it out to a lab iirc

thats what I remember from getting a few DUI's as well as being a paramedic, if we brought in a patient that had been in an accident, a CHP Officer would come in and get a vial of blood to send to the lab.

I absolutely don't understand the fine if he hasn't been charged with anything yet either

freeflower

My ah was taken to the lab at the hospital and blood was drawn. I'm pretty sure they had the results pronto.

Taking5

Make sure the fine was from the court and not the city where he was arrested. The cities in CA at least, are charging an arrest fee, and you do NOT have to pay it. I was arrested for a DUI and got this bill in the mail (this 10 years ago) and no where in my court order did it say to pay the city, so I didn't.

The clerk at the court filled me in - the cities send out these bills and they count on X % of people paying them without questioning it. I made sure one last time that I had totally fulfilled the court order and I was done.

Rowan

Here in Canada, a blood warrant is executed in any instance where the driver is unable to provide a breath sample i.e. he/she have gone to the hospital to be treated for injuries. The results are given to the police, not the offender, although they would be admissable in court. A blood warrant may also be executed when there is a suspicion of drugs - these will show up in the blood but cannot be detected using a breathilyzer.

Itsjustme715

Hi everyone, we did get the results back from the lab. It stated that he was .268, over the limit. He says that can't be right, although he does say that he was probably over the limit. When I drove him home a few hours after the blood test he seemed alright. When I look up on different websites how a person would be acting at that level of intoxication it just doesn't square with what I saw a short time later. I guess my question is could antidepressant/anxiety meds give a higher BAL result. Thanks

tennis71

I have never heard of anti depressants increasing the BAL.

I do know that an alcoholic with a high tolerance can act normal with a BAL that high. I know this from my arrest for DUI and I know this from talking to other alcoholics. I was taken to the hospital, blood was drawn and according to the police report I was answering all questions and I was quite coherent and polite. The reason I mentioned according to the police report is that I was in a black out, don't remember anything and my BAL was well above your husbands.

If he is able to function with a BAL that high, that is a very bad sign.

:praying

Itsjustme715

Thanks Tennis for your reply. He said that he was giving the cop directions to the courthouse, so he was coherent. That doesn't seem to jive with the way someone would act if they were that drunk. I don't know, I'm just surprised that it was that high.

GiveLove

Um. He was giving the cop directions to the courthouse?
Was the cop.......new on the job?

Itsjustme715

Not sure, but this incident happened in a little town and the courthouse is in a larger city where we live.

velma929

Once someone has habituated his body to alcohol (or any other drug) it takes larger and larger doses to get the same effect.

It would be quite possible to not look drunk and have a high BAC.

queenteree

FWIW, twice when my husband was admitted to the hospital (and pretty early in the morning, I may add), his BAL was .418 and .468, the lethal limit, and he seemed fairly normal. Most alcoholics develop a high tolerance level, so if my husband was a .268, I would think he was totally sober.

justaboutus

My husband drinks heavily and never slurs his speech. He just gets really really silly happy. Only when he's really plastered (like 1/2 a fifth of liquor) does he start bumping/leaning into things. Everyone reacts to alcohol differently.

Ed to add:

A significant amount of alcohol can be absorbed within just two hours. For example if he had his last drink then was arrested up 30 min later, 30 min to process, and an hour before you showed up... he could have been legally sober when you saw him.

velma929

By the way, my dad was an alcoholic, and very few people knew. Because he consumed mixed drinks, there weren't a lot of beer bottles around. One day, he mixed himself a cocktail before dinner and drank it. He went out to dinner with my mom and another couple, and had one beer at dinner. He had an accident on the way home, (resulting in a fatality in another vehicle).

He was subsequently charged and found guilty of vehicular manslaughter. No one who had dinner with him thought he was impaired. The witnesses who testified to what they saw after the accident had nothing to say about that, either.

Dad's preferred poison was gin and tonic which would be clear, whatever the proportions of the ingredients. He may have had more than one before going out to dinner...or it may have been a tumbler full of gin on the rocks. We'll never know.

An emergency room nurse said that some of the "frequent fliers" in the hospital where she works are so drunk they can have their wounds sutured without novacaine...and carry on a conversation while it's being done.

If he's already been fined, it's not for his BAL; had his license already been suspended?

Itsjustme715

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. I am getting quite an education here. The fine has not been paid yet and he received a notice yesterday in the mail, of a 6 month license suspension. I sure hope he can make some changes in his life.