Mom who lost custody of her newborn baby after a poppy seed bagel caused her to fail a drugs test wins $144,000 settlement

Elizabeth Mort had baby Isabella taken from her for five days after she failed a drugs test in 2010



It turned out that poppy seeds on a bagel was the cause of the test result

She has won a lawsuit again child welfare authorities and Jameson Hospital in Pittsburgh

A Pennsylvania woman who had her newborn taken away because she failed a hospital drug test by eating a poppy seed bagel has been awarded almost $144,000 in damages.

In 2010, Elizabeth Mort, 24, with help from the Pennsylvania office of the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit against Lawrence County child welfare authorities and Jameson Hospital in New Castle.



When Mort was in the hospital to deliver her baby, Isabella Rodriguez, in April 2010, she tested positive for opiates after eating a bagel, her lawyer said.

Elizabeth Mort, 24, has been awarded almost $144,000 in damages after her newborn daughter Isabella was taken away from her in 2010 because she failed a hospital drug test by eating a poppy seed bagel

The hospital alerted the county Department of Public Welfare, which, along with two police officers, forcibly removed three-day-old Isabella from Mort's home for five days.



'I was devastated. I just cried and cried and cried. I didn't want to let her go. I was heartbroken,' Mort said at a news conference following her filing of the lawsuit.

Mort sued in October 2010, alleging that a Dunkin' Donuts poppy seed bagel that she ate shortly before arriving at the hospital spurred a positive test for opiates. On Tuesday she was awarded a $143,500 payout.



Mort said she was home with her baby when a county child welfare caseworker arrived with an emergency protective custody order and took Isabella.

Mort sued in October 2010, alleging that a Dunkin' Donuts poppy seed bagel that she ate shortly before arriving at the hospital spurred a positive test for opiates

The lawsuit alleged Mort was never told in the hospital that she had failed a drug test, nor was she asked if she had eaten anything that could have affected the test results.



The infant was returned five days later, after local officials agreed there was no evidence the mother had used illegal drugs.



The suit argued that Jameson Hospital used a much lower threshold for drug screening than federal guidelines, resulting in more false positives from common foods and medicines.



The federal standard is 2,000 nanograms per milliliter, but Jameson Hospital used a reading of 300 nanograms, according to the lawsuit.



Elizabeth Mort, baby Isabella and her father Alex Rodriguez

ACLU officials said Tuesday the hospital and county have implemented policy changes so newborns aren't taken from parents based only on maternal drug tests, which can be inaccurate.

‘We hope that this case will encourage hospitals that routinely test pregnant women for drug use to reconsider that practice due to the harm that can result from false positives,’ said Pennsylvania ACLU staff attorney Sara Rose.