SerpApi.Org
Jeremy Morrison and Kyle Bylin were born just hours apart on January 28, 1988. Their mothers, Elizabeth O’Toole and Evelyn Newton, both gave birth at Unity Medical Center in Grafton, North Dakota.
Nearly 40 years ago, everything seemed fine at the hospital, but according to a new lawsuit filed by Morrison and Bylin, staff allegedly made a terrible mistake. The men, now 38, claim staff somehow switched them after birth, and now they want answers.
Morrison suspected something was different about him for years.
Morrison, who now lives in Southern Colorado, told KKTV he grew up feeling different from his family.
“I didn’t have anyone that looked like me in my family,” Morrison explained. “I was that blonde-haired kid that stood out in a family full of brown-haired people.”
Morrison said that a DNA test he took when he was 36 confirmed suspicions that he wasn’t biologically related to his parents.
Bylin found out he wasn’t related to his parents during a genealogy search.
Bylin told People he wanted to learn more about his mother’s German heritage, so he did a DNA test. That test showed he and his mother weren’t related, but he shared a large amount of DNA with Morrison’s aunt. Bylin connected with the unidentified aunt, and the families made a shocking realization.
Morrison said there is no way the switch could have happened anywhere but at the hospital. “Me and Kyle didn’t grow up in the same area; we couldn’t have gotten switched at daycare or anything like that,” he told KKTV.
The families filed a lawsuit against Unity Medical Center.
According to court documents obtained by People, the men claim the hospital switched them, causing “permanent and irreparable damage to the plaintiffs and their parent/child relationships.”
Unity Medical Center disputed the allegations in a statement obtained by People. The hospital confirmed the men’s births, but denied that staff gave the babies to the wrong mothers during their time at the facility.
“Unfortunately, because of the passage of nearly four decades, the medical and staffing records that might have provided additional clarity no longer exist, and no members of the delivery team from that time are still employed by the hospital,” the statement continued. “While we deeply sympathize with the men and their families, we have found no evidence to support claims that Unity Medical Center or its staff were responsible for what occurred,” the hospital stated.
“As caregivers, our hearts go out to both men and to everyone affected by this difficult situation,” they added. “We can only imagine the range of emotions they and their loved ones are experiencing.”
Morrison believes his gut feeling was right all along.
The news station confirmed that Morrison met his biological parents, Evelyn Newton and Keith Bylin, and Bylin met his parents, Elizabeth O’Toole and Terry Morrison. The men have not met each other yet.
“If you feel like you look different than everyone else, there might be a reason for it,” Morrison told KKTV.
READ NEXT: Mom Says Hospital Switched Her Twins at Birth but ‘We’re Not Going to Swap Them Back’
