DNA Tests Reveal Two Men Were Switched at Birth 38 Years Ago, Families Sue Hospital

Two American men have filed a lawsuit against a North Dakota hospital after DNA testing revealed they were accidentally switched at birth nearly four decades ago, a discovery that has upended two families and raised renewed questions about hospital safeguards in maternity wards.

The lawsuit, filed in North Dakota state court, accuses Unity Medical Center in Grafton of negligence and medical malpractice after Jeremy Morrison and Kyle Bylin learned they had been sent home with each other’s biological parents following their births on January 26, 1988. According to the complaint, the two were the only babies born at the hospital that day.

The extraordinary discovery came after Bylin randomly selected an at-home DNA test during a family Christmas gift exchange. The results unexpectedly linked him to a biological aunt he had never known through an online genealogy database. Further testing by Morrison confirmed the two men had been switched shortly after birth.
Speaking about the discovery, Bylin said he was stunned when the DNA evidence pointed not to an adoption, but to an apparent hospital mix-up.

“We could have never imagined that it was an actual birth switch that occurred,” he said.

Morrison said he first suspected something unusual after seeing a photograph of Bylin’s brother, noting the striking physical resemblance. Subsequent DNA analysis confirmed that the families who had raised them were not their biological families.

The revelation has brought profound emotional consequences for both families. Although Morrison and Bylin say they remain deeply grateful to the parents who raised them, they are now building relationships with their biological parents and siblings while trying to process nearly four decades of lost family experiences. Both men have met their biological families and described the reunions as emotional, welcoming and, at times, awkward. They have spoken by phone with each other but have not yet met in person.

The lawsuit argues that the hospital’s alleged error permanently altered the lives of both families, depriving parents of the opportunity to raise their biological sons and denying the men relationships with their biological relatives during their childhood and early adulthood. The plaintiffs are seeking damages for emotional distress and other losses resulting from the alleged negligence.

In response, Unity Medical Center acknowledged that both men were born at the hospital on the same day but denied that there is evidence proving hospital staff were responsible for the switch. The hospital noted that nearly four decades have passed, many medical records are no longer available and none of the employees who worked in the maternity ward at the time remain on staff. It has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit while also requesting a jury trial.

Legal experts say cases involving babies switched at birth are extremely rare but have become easier to uncover because of the growing popularity of consumer DNA testing services and online genealogy databases. Medical specialists also note that hospitals today rely on electronic identification bracelets, barcode systems and digital tracking technologies that make such mix-ups far less likely than they were decades ago.

For Morrison and Bylin, however, the discovery has reshaped their identities and family histories in ways that cannot be reversed. While they continue to strengthen ties with both their biological and adoptive families, they say no legal judgment can restore the years they lost growing up apart from their birth parents and siblings.