You got arrested for DUI in Fort Walton Beach, and you know something is off because your symptoms that night looked a lot like your medical condition, not like being drunk. Maybe your blood sugar crashed, your vertigo kicked in, or your medication made you unsteady. Now you are staring at a DUI charge and wondering if anyone will take your health issues seriously.
That is a common place for people to find themselves after a DUI arrest in Okaloosa County. Officers and prosecutors tend to focus on numbers and checklists, not the full story of what was happening with your body. You may feel like the breath test result or the officer’s description in the report ends the conversation, even if you know your condition could explain what they saw.
At Vanover Law Firm P.A., we look at DUI cases differently. Our senior attorney, Chris Garret, devotes a large share of his practice to DUI defense and motion hearings in Fort Walton Beach courts, and our team regularly digs into clients’ medical issues and medication use when we evaluate a case. In this guide, we explain how medical conditions can affect DUI investigations, when they may support a DUI medical defense, and what that process really looks like in Fort Walton Beach.
How Medical Conditions Can Affect DUI Cases In Fort Walton Beach
Florida DUI law focuses on whether a driver is impaired by alcohol or drugs, or has a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher. In the real world, prosecutors in Fort Walton Beach rely heavily on what the officer claims to have seen, how you performed on roadside tests, and what any breath or blood test showed. None of those pieces of evidence automatically accounts for chronic health problems, sudden medical episodes, or the side effects of prescribed medications.
Many of the clues officers are trained to look for are not unique to alcohol. Slurred speech, glassy eyes, unsteady walking, confusion, or slow responses can come from a wide range of medical conditions. If the officer does not fully understand your medical background or does not listen when you tell them, they may interpret these signs as proof you were impaired, even when there is another explanation.
In Fort Walton Beach courts, judges and prosecutors will usually not throw out a DUI charge just because a driver mentions a medical condition. They need proof and a clear link between that condition and the DUI evidence. That is where a structured DUI medical defense comes in. Instead of treating your health as an excuse, we treat it as a critical fact pattern that can change how the stop, the arrest, and the testing are viewed in court.
When we review a DUI case, we do not stop at the police report. We ask how your condition affects you on a good day and on a bad day, what medications you take, and whether you were experiencing symptoms around the time of the stop. That information can change how we interpret your behavior on video, the way the officer handled field sobriety tests, and even the reliability of chemical test results.
Common Medical Conditions That Mimic Drunk Driving Signs
Some health conditions produce symptoms that look almost identical to what officers are trained to see as signs of alcohol impairment. If you live with one of these conditions, you may have felt like you were trying to explain yourself at the roadside, only to be ignored. Understanding how your specific diagnosis overlaps with DUI clues is the first step to building a medical defense.
Diabetes is a clear example. A person with low blood sugar or diabetic ketoacidosis can appear confused, disoriented, sweaty, shaky, and unsteady on their feet. Their breath may have an odd or fruity odor. To an officer who is expecting to find a drunk driver, these symptoms can easily be misread as intoxication. Without medical records and a clear timeline of your blood sugar issues, that nuance will never reach the court.
Neurological conditions can be just as misleading. Disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, seizure disorders, or the aftermath of a stroke can affect muscle control, balance, coordination, and speech. Someone with a neurological issue might stagger slightly, have difficulty following complex instructions, or show involuntary eye movements. On a body camera video, these signs can look like classic drunk behavior unless the true medical cause is brought to light.
Vestibular or inner ear problems, as well as chronic vertigo, also play a major role in balance and orientation. People with these conditions often have trouble standing on one leg, walking in a straight line, or making quick turns, especially in the dark or on uneven ground. Musculoskeletal issues, such as back injuries, knee problems, or arthritis, can further affect how a person walks or stands. All of these can cause poor performance on roadside tests that an officer may blame on alcohol rather than on a documented physical limitation.
Prescription medications complicate things further. Many law-abiding drivers take drugs that cause drowsiness, dizziness, slowed reaction time, or blurred vision. When combined with stress, fatigue, or a minor health flare-up, even a small prescribed dose can make someone look and feel different. In a DUI investigation, that can mean slow movements, delayed responses, or clumsy handling of documents, all of which may be written up as signs of impairment if no one explains the medication factor in context.
How Medical Issues Can Distort Field Sobriety Tests
Standard field sobriety tests are not medical exams. They are coordination and observation exercises created to help officers estimate whether a person might be impaired. In Florida, the most common ones are the walk-and-turn test, the one-leg stand test, and the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, which involves tracking an object with your eyes. Each test assumes that the person taking it is relatively healthy and free from significant physical or neurological limitations.
The walk-and-turn test requires you to walk heel to toe along a line, turn in a specific way, then walk back. The one-leg stand test asks you to balance on one foot while counting. If you have back pain, hip or knee problems, excess weight, vertigo, or a condition that affects your legs or feet, these tasks can be difficult or impossible even when you are completely sober. On the roadside, in the dark, on gravel or uneven pavement, the challenge is even greater.
Officers are trained to mark clues on these tests, such as stepping off the line, raising arms for balance, starting too soon, or putting your foot down. They are not trained medical providers. If you told the officer you have a bad knee or a balance disorder and they pushed ahead with the same test, the poor performance may say more about that decision than about any alcohol use. In court, we can highlight that gap between your known condition and the officer’s choice of tests.
The horizontal gaze nystagmus test focuses on involuntary jerking of the eyes as they move side to side. Alcohol can cause certain patterns of nystagmus, but it is not the only cause. Inner ear problems, some neurological issues, certain medications, and even fatigue can influence how your eyes move. If you already see a neurologist or eye doctor, or you have been told you have a condition affecting your eyes or balance, that information matters when we challenge this part of the officer’s evaluation.
At Vanover Law Firm P.A., we carefully review body camera footage and written reports to see how field sobriety tests were explained, whether the officer asked about physical or medical limitations, and whether they adjusted the tests when you reported a problem. Chris Garrett’s focus on DUI motion practice means we are looking for these details from day one, because they often form the basis for questioning the reliability of the officer’s conclusions in Fort Walton Beach court.
Breath Tests, Blood Tests & Medical Conditions
Many people we talk with feel defeated because they blew over the legal limit on a breath test, even if they drank little or none. Breath test numbers are powerful in court, but they are not perfect, and certain medical situations can affect how reliable they are. Understanding what the machine actually does helps explain where medical defenses sometimes come into play.
A breath test device does not measure blood alcohol directly. It estimates blood alcohol concentration by analyzing alcohol in deep lung air and applying a conversion ratio. For that estimate to be accurate, the device needs a proper breath sample from the lungs, enough time since the last mouth alcohol exposure, and a driver who can follow instructions and blow steadily into the machine. Health issues can interfere with those assumptions.
Conditions such as GERD or acid reflux can cause stomach contents and alcohol vapors to move up into the esophagus and mouth. Dental work, mouth sores, or recent vomiting can leave residual alcohol in the mouth. If a breath test picks up mouth alcohol instead of pure deep-lung air, the result can be artificially high. In some situations, officers are supposed to observe you for a certain period before the test to reduce this risk. If you have documented reflux or related problems, that can be important context when we evaluate your breath test result.
Metabolic conditions like uncontrolled diabetes can also complicate matters. People in diabetic ketoacidosis can produce ketones that the body converts into compounds exhaled in breath. Certain breath testing technologies have been reported as confusing some of those compounds with alcohol molecules. While this is a nuanced scientific issue, it highlights why a blood test and medical records can be crucial if a diabetic episode was underway around the time of your arrest.
When we handle a DUI case, we do not accept a breath or blood number at face value. We review the test logs and, when needed, consult with appropriate experts to understand whether your medical condition or medication could have affected the sample or the reading. In Fort Walton Beach, that kind of detailed review often becomes the foundation for motions that challenge how the test was administered or whether the result should be trusted.
Building A DUI Medical Defense In Fort Walton Beach Courts
A DUI medical defense is not a single argument. It is a strategy built from your medical history, the science of DUI testing, and the specific way your case unfolded in Okaloosa County. The first step is a detailed conversation about your health. We want to know what you have been diagnosed with, which doctors you see, what medications you take, and what you were feeling or experiencing before and during the stop.
From there, we gather supporting documentation. That can include medical records from your primary care doctor or specialists, hospital records if you were treated around the time of the arrest, pharmacy records, and any test results that show how your condition has affected you. In some cases, we may advise speaking with your providers about a letter or testimony that explains how your condition would be expected to impact balance, coordination, speech, or mental clarity.
Next, we compare your medical information to the DUI evidence. We look at the officer’s report, dash and body camera footage, field sobriety test forms, and any breath or blood test documentation. We ask whether your symptoms could reasonably account for what the officer saw and whether the officer handled the encounter in a way that respected your condition. If we see gaps, such as an officer ignoring your stated limitations or rushing through observation periods, those become points of attack.
In Fort Walton Beach courts, much of this work plays out through motions and negotiations rather than in dramatic trial scenes. Chris Garrett’s focus on motion hearings means we place significant effort into written and oral arguments to suppress or exclude unreliable tests, statements taken after an improper arrest, or observations that are undermined by your medical evidence. Sometimes, weakening key parts of the state’s case this way leads to better plea options. In other situations, a strong medical defense becomes part of the strategy for taking a case to trial.
Our flat fee approach at Vanover Law Firm P.A. is designed to support this kind of detailed, front-loaded work. We do not want you to hesitate to share medical information or to pursue necessary motions because you are worried about each phone call or court filing increasing hourly charges. Your health and your freedom deserve a thorough defense, and structured fees help make that possible.
What You Should Do Now If You Have A Medical Condition & A DUI Charge
After a DUI arrest, time passes quickly and memories fade. If you have a medical condition that might have affected your behavior or test results, start by writing down everything you remember about that day. Include what you ate and drank, when you took your medications, how you felt before driving, what you told the officer about your condition, and anything unusual that happened during the stop or at the jail.
Next, begin gathering and organizing your medical information. That can include a list of your current medications, the names and contact information of your doctors, recent visit summaries, and any test results related to your condition. You do not need to decide which records matter legally; that is part of what we help with. The key is to preserve the evidence now so it is available when your attorney needs to analyze it.
Be careful about where you talk about your case and your health. Avoid posting about the arrest or your condition on social media, and be cautious about discussing details with anyone who is not your lawyer or medical provider. Casual comments can be misunderstood or used against you later. Before you make decisions about pleas, diversion, or anything else in your Fort Walton Beach DUI case, speak with a DUI attorney who understands how medical defenses work.
At Vanover Law Firm P.A., we offer flat fee representation with payment plans, which helps clients pursue a thorough medical based defense without fear of runaway legal bills. We can often appear in court on your behalf for certain hearings, which can be especially important if your condition makes travel difficult or if you live outside the area. A short conversation with our team can give you a clearer sense of what role your medical condition may play in your defense.
How Vanover Law Firm P.A. Approaches DUI Cases Involving Health Issues
When you contact us about a DUI charge and a medical condition, our starting point is listening. We want to understand not just your diagnosis, but how your health affects you day to day. That includes what symptoms you experience, what a flare-up looks like, and how your medication regimen fits into your routine. We then map that reality onto the timeline of your stop, arrest, and any testing that occurred.
We carefully compare your story to the police report, the video, and the test records. We look for places where the officer’s description does not match what we would expect given your medical condition. For example, if they report that you refused to perform a test that your doctor has told you not to do, or they ignored your explanation of a balance issue, those inconsistencies matter. They can change how a judge or prosecutor views probable cause and the strength of the case.
Because our firm also handles elder law and long-term planning, we are used to working with clients who have chronic conditions and complex medical histories. That background helps us understand how a DUI charge fits into the bigger picture of your life, including driving privileges, caregiving roles, and future planning. We tailor our advice with that broader context in mind, not in a vacuum.
We combine this patient, fact-driven approach with practical support. Our flat fee structure and payment plan options are set up so you know what your defense will cost upfront, even if your case involves extra work like medical record review and motion hearings. When possible, we attend court on your behalf, which is especially valuable for out of state visitors, military members, or clients whose health makes frequent court appearances difficult. Throughout the process, you get clear information about your options so you can make informed decisions.
Talk With A Fort Walton Beach DUI Lawyer About Your Medical Defense Options
A DUI charge in Fort Walton Beach is serious, and having a medical condition does not automatically make it disappear. At the same time, your health is not a side note. When it is properly documented and explained, it can change how the evidence is viewed and how the case is resolved. The sooner your medical history and the details of your arrest are reviewed together, the more options you may have.
If you believe your medical condition or medications played a role in your DUI arrest, you do not have to guess how that might affect your case. Our team at Vanover Law Firm P.A. can review your police reports, video, and health information, then explain how a DUI medical defense might work in Fort Walton Beach courts. Reach out before you make decisions about pleas or accept that nothing can be done.
Call (850) 999-0006 to discuss your DUI case and medical condition with our team.