Two men who believe they were switched at birth nearly 80 years ago are suing a Roman Catholic diocese in West Virginia, alleging negligence and breach of duty by the hospital where they were born.
John William Carr and Jackie Lee Spencer were born on August 29, 1942, at St Joseph Hospital in Buckhannon. The lawsuit filed in Monongalia County Circuit Court against the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston says staffers at the diocese-run hospital sent them home with the wrong families, the Dominion Post reported.
The switch was discovered last year when DNA tests showed Carr and Spencer had no genetic matches with the families that raised them but did match the other's family, the men say in their lawsuit.
Carr, Spencer and their families have suffered a "lifetime of consequences" from the switch and are seeking unspecified damages, they say in the lawsuit.
The diocese does not comment on pending litigation, spokesman Tim Bishop said.