Two men sue hospital for switching them at birth 38 years ago

Two men who discovered they were switched at birth 38 years ago are suing a North Dakota hospital, alleging it deprived them of the lives they should have lived. Kyle Bylin, who grew up as Kyle Bylin, found his biological family after taking a DNA test given as a Christmas gift. The test connected him to his biological aunt via a genealogy platform, prompting her nephew, Jeremy Morrison, to also take a DNA test.

“

It was there that my head nearly exploded.

"My head nearly exploded," Kyle Bylin told ABC News. "We never imagined that a switch at birth had actually happened." According to the lawsuit filed by the two men, they were the only children born on January 26, 1988, at Unity Medical Center in Grafton, North Dakota. Despite this, they were sent home with the wrong parents. The hospital maintains that it cannot be proven that staff were responsible for the switch, but it does not deny that a mix-up may have occurred.

Kyle Bylin, who was born Jeremy Morrison, still possesses the hospital bracelet that incorrectly identified him as Kyle Bylin. Evelyn Newton, who raised Kyle Bylin, told the Associated Press that "Kyle will always be my son." However, she expressed a sense of loss, stating, "I feel like I have been robbed of the life I should have had with my biological son. You can't go back and get 35 years again. The first steps, learning to drive, getting married... How do you make that right?"

“

We had never imagined that there actually had been a switch at birth.

Jeremy Morrison told ABC News that he still considers the parents he grew up with, Elizabeth O'Toole and Terry Morrison, as his parents. "I was loved. I played sports, I did well in school. A DNA test cannot erase 38 years of memories." The two men have met their biological parents, describing the encounters as warm but awkward. They have spoken by phone but have not yet met each other. "We have tried to stand together as a group and acknowledge that no matter what, there are many ways this can become socially complicated," Kyle Bylin said. "Everyone is getting to know people they didn't know before."

“

Kyle will always be my son.

While the families navigate this new reality, attorney Tim O'Keefe has attempted to reach a financial settlement with the hospital without success. Consequently, he and the families have filed a lawsuit alleging emotional distress resulting from negligence and medical malpractice.

“

But I feel that I have been deprived of the life I should have had with my biological son. You cannot go back and get 35 years again. The first steps, learning to drive, getting married... How do you make that right?