Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in Michigan
while i was in the hospital waiting for me and my baby to be released, they told me they were waiting on results from GBS strep test. That it had to come back negative for baby to be released. I said okay, and just waited. The next morning they came to my room and told me they had drug tested my baby and she came back positive for THC that CPS would be coming to talk to me before i could take my baby home. The CPS said they wanted to come see my house to make sure we had everything we needed and was a safe environment. I agreed. The hospital told me I couldn't take her home because she had jaundice and needed to be held over night. I later found out, that CPS had placed a temporary hold on her. I have read many many articles on patient rights, guidelines and ETC when it comes to this sort of thing. Part of the guidelines are that they notify me of the drug testing for one, two that i first be asked for permission, though they DO NOT have to have my permission to drug test the baby, they ARE supposed to notify you that they are going to do it. I was lied to on more then one occasion from the hospital, i was treated poorly and discriminated against. I want to know if this is good enough to file for a law suit and if i should get an attorney to fight against CPS. They did not follow guidelines, i would have agreed if i had been asked if they could drug test my baby, mainly because if u refuse they will notify CPS and CPS will take custody then file for the drug test and temporary place the child. Do i have probable cause to sue for violations of my rights and coercion
2 Answers from Attorneys
I probably am the only attorney you will find who actually had this identical case. I sued the hospital for violation of privacy rights, HIPPA, etc. When we tried to pick a jury, we could not get a jury because the entire panel was prejudiced against my client. Everyone on the panel had no sympathy for the mother who smoked marijuana during a pregnancy. I had to dismiss the case. The reality was that the judge was very sympathetic to my case and if I could have tried the case in front of the judge only, I would have won. However, if you sue, the hospital will ask for a jury and you will find yourself in the same position as me. This is the price that we pay for living in a society with a population comprised of people who are obsessed with drug issues but inhale booze on a daily basis. William S. Stern
You want to sue the hospital that found illegal drugs in your new born baby, causing CPS to step in, because you believe that YOUR rights were violated. But, you would have agreed to the drug test because if you refused, then CPS would have stepped in. I respectfully disagree with Mr. Stern that a judge would have been sympathetic to you as a Plaintiff, and under either scenario, how you or your child would end up in a different position than you find yourself now.
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