Momentary Baby Switch Not Grounds for Lawsuit Print
Wednesday, May 04 2011

A state appeals court in New York has ruled that no evidence exists that a woman or her baby were harmed by a hospital mix-up in which the infant was briefly given to the wrong mother.
 
Lynda Williams gave birth to her daughter at the Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.  She claims the hospital staff handed the newborn to her one morning, then a few minutes later a group of nurses rushed in and took her away.  Apparently a hospital worker realized that two babies were placed in the wrong bassinets.  The employee was later dismissed.
 
Williams claimed the incident, though brief, caused her months of anxiety, particularly whether the other mother, who may have briefly nursed Williams' daughter, might have been drinking alcohol or using drugs.  Moreover, she also wondered if the baby she had taken home was the one she had delivered.
 
The court found no grounds for a lawsuit against the hospital.  Williams' lawyer, Lisa Pashkoff, said she plans to appeal the ruling. "It's bizarre," she said. "How can you find there's no duty to the parents is just beyond me. The whole thing was really a harrowing experience for them."

—Source:  UPI.com