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Is Blood Really The Gold Standard?


People think DWI blood tests are 100% accurate. Yet this is not true. People assume that a blood score is like DNA evidence- irrefutable. Once again, this is not true. People give up hope and resolve to plead guilty or no contest to their DWI thinking it is impossible to win. This is sadly not true.

I was abhorred when a Houston blood expert (Ph.D in chemistry and former state lab forensic scientist) explained to me that if the lab tech accidentally pipettes one quarter of an extra drop into the test tube the score can be .07 too high!

I was equally mortified when I learned that many results come from labs that do not properly validate their machines. A result is only as good as its measurements. These measurements must be properly tested (lower limit of detection, etc.) before one can rely on them. 

In June of 2023 I will be spending a week in a university gas chromatography lab teaching other lawyers about the issues with testing. This will be my second time in this particular lab lawyer course. The first time I spent a week with actual state scientists who test for a living. The intricacies of analytical chemistry are front and center to every blood test. It is not enough to hire an expert- one must truly understand where things go wrong and how to communicate this to a jury. 

Personally, I would never trust a blood test on its face. There are way too many variables where things often get overlooked (hence labs not performing proper validations). 

I have practiced 28 years and unfortunately I feel more leery of blood tests than breath tests (at least with breath, you understand the margins and only so much can go wrong). With blood tests, there are too many parameters where labs just want you to “trust” them. 

We at The Coffey Firm take great pride in a full case analysis and explaining the best options. Sometimes this involves trial, and when it does it always involves fighting for truth and justice. https/www.mimicoffey.com




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