Woman Suing Hospital for $3.5 Million After DNA Test Reveals She was Switched at Birth

Urian B., Tech Times 09 September 2021, 12:09 am

A woman is now suing a hospital for $3.5 million after a DNA test reveals that she was actually switched at birth! This 19-year old woman from Spain is taking official legal action directly against local health authorities after she had learned that she was actually swapped at birth with another baby!

San Millan de Logrono Hospital at Fault

According to the report by Reuters, the unidentified woman was born back in 2002 at the official San Millan de Logrono hospital located in La Rioja just hours after yet another baby girl. Both babies were reportedly placed in incubators before they were then handed out to the wrong parents!

The story by Complex reports that a subsequent investigation that was carried out by the official regional health authority concluded that there was just one baby girl she could have been swapped with. The complaint is now looking for $3.5 million in damages coming from the region's official ministry of health.

Health Department Admits 'Human Error'

The woman that she was reportedly switched with has already been informed. However, she has not yet made a complaint. Attorney Jose Saez Morga told TVR television network that in the case of his client, she was born later but was then given to a mother who had only just given birth to the first child.

It was noted that the negligence is so gross that it already speaks for itself. Meanwhile, the health department located in the northern region of La Rioja has reportedly acknowledged the mistake and still maintains that only "human error" was to blame.

Health Department Addresses Issue

The health department of the northern region of La Rioja noted in a statement that an internal investigation found only an undetermined "one-off human error" as the one to blame. They also added that they would respect any official judicial proceedings.

It said that they were not aware of any other similar cases and added that current systems in place would now prevent any particularly similar mix-ups from happening again. Attorney Jose Saez Morga also noted that he had filed a claim on behalf of his own client against La Rioja's health department for what Reuters notes as an "immeasurable emotional harm" that was caused by just this particular error.

Woman Reportedly Grew Up in 'Dysfunctional Family'

The lawyer, however, could not be reached in order to obtain further comment. According to the larioja.com news site, however, the girl actually grew up in a dysfunctional family and most of the time was just raised by her grandmother.

Switch ups usually happen in a hospital and not during certain situations like when a woman from Utah went into labor while driving to the hospital and gave birth to a 10-pound baby roadside. Of course, this is still no guarantee as the switch up happened in the hospital itself. Back in 2019, an Ebola survivor was actually able to give birth to a virus-free baby in Congo just shortly after the outbreak.

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Written by Urian B.