$2.13 million fine for swapping babies

Nice: Two French families whose babies were switched at birth more than 20 years ago won nearly two million euros in compensation on Tuesday. A court in Grasse ordered the clinic at the centre of the mix-up in the French Riviera city of Cannes to pay 1.88 million euros ($2.13 million), six times less than what the families had called for.

 

The clinic was ordered to pay 4,00,000 euros to each of the swapped babies who are now adult women and 3,00,000 euros to three parents concerned and 60,000 euros to three siblings. 

A lawyer for one of the families said they were “completely satisfied with the decision” and “reli-eved that the court had recognised the clinic was responsible.”

 

The story began on July 4, 1994, when Sophie Ser-rano, now 38, gave birth to little Manon at a clinic in Cannes. The baby suffered from jaundice and doctors put her in an incubator equipped with lights to treat the problem along with another affected newborn girl. An auxiliary nurse unwittingly switched them and although both mothers immediately expressed doubt about the babies, pointing to their different hair lengths, they were sent home anyway.

 

Ten years later, troubled by the fact his daughter bore no resemblance to him with her darker skin, Manon’s father did a paternity test that revealed he was not her biological parent. Sophie Serrano then discovered she was not Manon’s mother either, prompting a probe to try and find the other family who had been handed their daughter.