Mother Of Switched Baby Asking T&T Government For Millions In Compensation

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad CMC – Lawyers representing the family of a baby, who had been switched at birth, are seeking five million dollars (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) in compensation from the Trinidad and Tobago government.

In a letter sent to Health Minister Dr. Fuad Khan, attorney Ingrid Melville said her clients experienced emotional trauma and great shame when they took home a baby of Indian descent believed to be theirs.

The mix-up occurred at the Mount Hope Women’s Hospital on March 10, 2013, when two women – one of African descent and the other of Indian descent – underwent Caesarean section operations. They were later discharged from the hospital and it took five months later for the mix-up to be discovered after DNA tests.

Melville, who wrote to Dr. Khan on behalf of the parents and paternal grandmother of the African woman, said, “Our client instructs that following the operation, when she woke up after the effects of the anaesthetic began to wear off, she was shown the baby girl that she had given birth to. This baby was in a cot next to her bed and tagged with her name”.

The letter said that the mother and her family “noticed that the infant’s hair did not show any signs of developing small curls as is normal with children of African descent”.

It added that this raised a number of questions, particularly among the extended family of the baby on the paternal side—including suspicion of infidelity. The attorney said that the mother was interrogated with regards to her friendships with East Indian families.

“Our instructions are that even during the christening, the godparents, friends and other family members kept commenting that the baby looked like an East Indian, only to the embarrassment and dismay of the parents.”

The letter outlined a number of other concerns suffered by the client and requested an ex-gratia compensation of five million dollars plus legal fees to cover a range of matters including exemplary damages due to organizational failure by Mount Hope Women’s Hospital as evidenced by the mix-up of the babies; emotional distress, pain, humiliation and suffering caused to the mother, father and paternal grandmother since the birth of the baby and baptism-related expenses.

The babies were returned to their biological parents on August 10. The parents of the other baby are also said to be seeking compensation.