Hospital fined for switching babies

Error went undetected for 22 years

VIENNA • An Austrian court has ordered a hospital to pay €90,000 (more than $133,000) for switching two babies at birth more than two decades ago.

Doris Gruenwald, 26, discovered the error only four years ago when a routine blood test revealed she was not the biological child of Evelin and Josef Gruenwald, the couple who she thought were her parents.

“My whole body started shaking ... It was like the ground under my feet disappeared,” when she learned the truth, Gruenwald told Austria’s Krone newspaper last year.

According to the Guardian newspaper, the hospital where Gruenwald was born, in the southern city of Graz, tried to cast doubt on whether the mix-up had occurred there, suggesting it may have taken place later in another location.

But the court rejected this, ruling that the mix-up

MY WHOLE BODY STARTED SHAKING ... IT WAS LIKE THE GROUND UNDER MY FEET DISAPPEARED.

occurred in the 20 hours between the birth and when the mother, who was recovering from a caesarean section, was given the child, the Guardian reported.

The Gruenwalds’ natural child has not been found.

The court ruled Monday that the University Hospital Graz was guilty of “gross negligence” and awarded damages of €30,000 each for Doris, Evelin and Josef Gruenwald, as well as costs.

Gunther Ledolter, the lawyer representing the Gruenwalds, on Tuesday confirmed the court decision and details reported in Austrian media.

According to the Guardian, Doris Gruenwald still does not know who her biological parents are, while the other victim — who is not known — is unaware she was brought up by the wrong people.

This is despite the hospital having last year launched a program offering free DNA tests to the 200 women born in the hospital around the same time and their mothers, the Guardian reported.

So far, only about 30 women have taken advantage of the tests and no matches have been found.

The hospital plans an appeal.