x
Breaking News
More () »

Voluntary recall of test tubes may impact some DUI cases in Colorado

The test tubes are missing a preservative that prevents someone’s blood from fermenting, and a test may inaccurately show an elevated result.

DENVER — A company that makes tubes used for blood alcohol testing in Colorado is voluntarily recalling some of its product.

The company, BD, said the tubes are missing a preservative that prevents someone’s blood from fermenting, and a test may inaccurately show an elevated result.

About 300 tubes sent out across the country were missing the preservative because of a manufacturing issue. BD said it has located 199 of those tubes, and they are still looking for the other 101.

Danny Luneau, a defense attorney in Colorado, told Next with Kyle Clark that four of his clients, who entered guilty pleas in DUI cases based on their blood tests, could be impacted by this. They learned about the recall because the attorney used an independent lab to retest their blood, and that lab told them detected the issue.

“We never would have known about this, and this is the unfortunate part about our criminal justice system, is people with means have the ability to retest their blood sample. Most criminal defendants who are represented by a public defender - they are not going to do a retest,” Luneau said.

The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment sets requirements on which labs are certified to provide the blood collection kits to law enforcement. It is up to those labs to make sure they are using kits that meet state requirements.

The entire lot of recalled product contained 240,000 tubes, but only 300 were affected, according to the company. BD said it can’t confirm how many of the 300 tubes were used in Colorado.

RELATED: 18 months of breathalyzer results could be called into question in Colorado

RELATED: Colorado's entire breathalyzer program is on trial because of one DUI case

SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Next with Kyle Clark

Before You Leave, Check This Out