Two North Dakota families have filed a lawsuit against Unity Medical Center in Grafton, alleging that hospital staff mistakenly switched two baby boys at birth on January 26, 1988. The lawsuit claims the infants, Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison, were raised by the wrong families for over 36 years before a DNA test exposed the alleged error.
Morrison discovered the mix-up when a DNA test taken for an ancestry website indicated that Bylin was his nephew. Morrison stated that his family had no cousins, raising immediate questions about the test results. He also recounted always feeling different from his family, noting that he was a "blonde-haired kid that stood out in a family full of brown-haired people."
The lawsuit alleges that Bylin and Morrison were the only boys born at the hospital that day. Morrison expressed heartbreak over the revelation, lamenting a different life and family he never knew. He suggested that had he been raised by his biological parents, he would likely have been working on a farm with an older brother he never knew he had.
Since the discovery, the two sets of biological parents have met, but Morrison and Bylin have not yet met each other. The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and damages exceeding $50,000.
Unity Medical Center has denied the allegations, filing a motion to dismiss the case. The hospital's legal team argued that their staff exercised the appropriate degree of skill and care, and that the lawsuit was filed after the statute of limitations had expired. They also noted that due to the passage of nearly four decades, relevant medical and staffing records are no longer available, and no staff from that time remain employed by the hospital.
In a statement, Unity Medical Center acknowledged the situation and expressed sympathy for the families involved. The hospital stated that while they are working to understand the circumstances, they have found no evidence to support the claims that the center or its staff were responsible for the alleged switch. "As caregivers, our hearts go out to both men and to everyone affected by this difficult situation," the statement read.