Kyle Bylin, Jeremy Morrison File Lawsuit After DNA Test Reveals Hospital Switched Them at Birth

Two men from North Dakota have initiated a lawsuit against Unity Medical Center, claiming they were accidentally switched at birth nearly 40 years ago.

Two North Dakota men have filed a lawsuit against a hospital after DNA tests revealed they were accidentally switched at birth nearly 40 years ago, leading each to be raised by the other’s biological family.

The lawsuit, filed against Unity Medical Center in North Dakota, alleges the hospital mistakenly swapped the newborns shortly after they were born on January 28, 1988. According to the complaint, Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison were the only two babies delivered at the hospital just hours apart that day.

The discovery came after Bylin received an at-home DNA test as a Christmas gift. The results connected him with a biological aunt through a genealogy platform, prompting Morrison to take his own DNA test. The tests confirmed the two men had been raised by each other’s biological parents.

The complaint alleges hospital staff switched the babies before they left the hospital and failed to identify or correct the error. Both men’s parents have also joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.

“The employees and/or agents of Unity Medical Center who switched the newborns and then failed to recognize or correct the error were acting within the scope of their employment,” the complaint states, according to People.

Unity Medical Center has denied responsibility, saying there is no evidence that hospital employees caused the mix-up. However, the hospital acknowledged that the babies had been switched at some point.

“We recognise the profound impact this discovery has had on them and their families,” the hospital said in a statement quoted by ABC News. It added that nearly four decades had passed since the births, and the relevant medical and staffing records no longer exist, while none of the delivery staff remain employed at the facility.

Bylin, who was born as Jeremy Morrison, said he still possesses the hospital identification bracelet that mistakenly listed him as Kyle Bylin.

“Kyle is still my son – that is never going to change,” Evelyn Newton, who raised him, told the Associated Press. “But I feel robbed of the life I should have had with my biological son. You can’t go back and replace 35 years. First steps, driving a car, getting married – how do you make up for that?”

Since learning the truth, both men have met their biological parents. They described the reunions to ABC News as emotional, welcoming and, at times, awkward. Although Bylin and Morrison have spoken over the phone, they have not yet met in person.

“We’ve tried to unite as a group and just recognise that no matter what, there’s different ways that this can be socially messy,” Bylin said. “Everyone’s getting to know people that they didn’t know before.”

While baby-switch cases are rare, they do occur. According to the DNA Diagnostics Center, as many as 18 babies in the United States could be sent home with the wrong families each year, although such mistakes are usually discovered shortly after birth.

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