can a hair folicile test be ligit in a medical malpractice case for having a false positive test for metamethanie while in labor

i was in labor, and the doctor told me i tested positive for meth, and never used, and had lost my baby 2 hrs later from medical mapractice, and most lawyers wont take me case because of the test. is it an effective way to show on a hair folice test? and i read up on a site that 26-72% of women while pregnant have false positive tests for meth and opiates. is this true
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John Robert Mittelman

John Robert Mittelman Avvo Pro

Contributor Level 4
A false positive drug result can be caused by any number of factors, including, but not limited to, medications taken during pregnancy and the birth of your child; metabolites that appear to be from illegal drugs but which in fact are from perfectly legal and common sources.

To answer your question, the hair follicle test is never definitive for any particular metabolite of a drug, however, it is a very sensitive test that can certainly assist you in making your case that you were NOT taking meth. Your sample from the hospital (assume it's urine...but the same applies if it's blood) would have been "split" and there is another amount that should be tested independently by another facility to determine whether the first test was accurate or not.

As to hair testing, the hair on the body grows at different rates. On the head, it's about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch per month, other parts grow much more slowly. Some areas that have hair are not good for follicle testing. My suggestion is to first have the split sample tested, and if it's also positive, you can and should have some hair sampling and testing done. The results will be MUCH more sensitive and hopefully, exonerate you.

Hope this helps.

John M
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