Minnesota man sues makers of alcohol test

A Minnesota man who claims hand sanitizer skewed his court-ordered test for alcohol is suing the lab company that makes the test.

Convicted drunken driver John Gerard Miller flunked the test that showed he'd been drinking, a violation of his probation. Miller was thrown in jail.

A judge in Polk County in November ordered the 46-year-old East Grand Forks man released after a defense attorney successfully argued the test was positive because of Miller's use of an alcohol-based sanitizer - and that the company knew the test could be skewed by certain substances.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Miller's lawsuit says Redwood Toxicology Laboratory misrepresented its alcohol test as accurate.

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The lab company did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)