In 2002, two babies were born in a hospital in La Rioja, Spain only five hours apart.
The two babies were however handed to the wrong families after an accidental error. For 19 years, these families raised these kids thinking they were their biological family until a DNA test proved them wrong.
The parents raised one child, and another was raised by a woman she believed was her grandmother.
According to a report by the Guardian, the switch was discovered four years ago after the grandmother complained that the father was not taking up his responsibilities in raising his child.
To prove that this girl was indeed his child, a DNA test was conducted, and the shocking news was revealed.
An investigation was launched into the matter, and all findings pointed at the only other baby that might have been swapped with her at birth.
According to Sara Alba, La Rioja’s regional health chief, the systems were different and weren’t as computerised as they are now. “It was a human error and we haven’t been able to find out who was to blame,” she said.
The complainant’s lawyer, José Sáez Morga, was quoted by the Guardian saying that the 19-year-old client was seeking over 200 million – in Malawi Kwacha – as damages because she had suffered ‘negligence so serious that it speaks for itself’.
