A legal battle has been launched in North Dakota after two families alleged that their sons were accidentally sent home with the wrong parents nearly 40 years ago.
The complaint, filed July 7 in Walsh County District Court, names Christian Unity Hospital Corporation, doing business as Unity Medical Center in Grafton, as the defendant. It was brought by Jeremy Morrison, Kyle Bylin and their parents, who accuse the hospital of negligence, medical malpractice, emotional distress and deceit, and are seeking more than $50,000 in damages. A jury trial has been requested.
Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison were both born at Unity Medical Center in Grafton, North Dakota, on Jan. 26, 1988. According to the lawsuit, they were the only two babies born at the hospital that day.
According to the lawsuit, the families believe hospital workers mistakenly switched the newborns before they were discharged. Unity Medical Center has disputed that claim.
Jeremy is said to have uncovered the alleged mix-up after using an ancestry website. KKTV reported that one of his aunts uploaded DNA information, and Kyle was then identified as a nephew.
That result immediately stood out, because Jeremy said he had no cousins and did not recognize Kyle at all.
For years, Jeremy had wondered why he looked different from the rest of the family who raised him.
“I didn’t have anyone that looked like me in my family. I was that blonde-haired kid that stood out in a family full of brown-haired people.”
A later DNA test reportedly showed that the couple who brought up Jeremy are actually Kyle’s biological parents.
Reflecting on what might have been, Jeremy said that had he grown up with the family he believes is biologically his, he would have been “working the farm with my older brother that I never knew I had”.
The two men who say they were switched at birth have not yet met. However, their parents have met the son they believe is biologically theirs.
The claim filed by both men and their parents accuses the hospital of negligence, medical malpractice, emotional distress, and deceit. The families are seeking damages exceeding $50,000.
A jury trial has also been requested. The hospital, meanwhile, has rejected the allegations and said it is “currently working to better understand a highly unusual situation”.
In its response, Unity Medical Center said that both men were born at the hospital on the same day in 1988, but that records that might have clarified what happened no longer exist and no one from the delivery team is still employed there. The hospital said it has found no evidence supporting the families’ claims, while expressing sympathy for everyone involved.
In a statement, Unity Medical Center said:
“Both men were born at our hospital on the same day in 1988, and we recognize the profound impact this discovery has had on them and their families.
“Unfortunately, because of the passage of nearly four decades, the medical and staffing records that might have provided additional clarity no longer exist, and no members of the delivery team from that time are still employed by the hospital.
“While we deeply sympathize with the men and their families, we have found no evidence to support claims that Unity Medical Center or its staff were responsible for what occurred.
“As caregivers, our hearts go out to both men and to everyone affected by this difficult situation. We can only imagine the range of emotions they and their loved ones are experiencing.”