By mistake, less than 62 years ago, the medical staff handed over Mr. Tadeusz to the wrong parents. This mistake ruined his whole life. As a compensation, the court decided to award the aggrieved party PLN 450. PLN, which were to compensate for years of suffering, identity problems and, above all, lost family ties. Unfortunately, the money that Mr. Tadeusz received must now be returned with interest due.
The event took place in October 1956 in the town of Kamienica Polska. In the ward, two women gave birth to sons. Then, by mistake of the staff, the newborns were changed and ended up in the wrong families. Over time, as the children matured, those around them noticed that something was wrong. The children looked more like their neighbors than their own.
– At the turn of primary school and high school, a whole story of suspicion began. Someone was watching someone, someone was picking up some similarities. On the other hand, it is difficult for a man to accept from the march that something like this has happened – Tadeusz, one of the changed men, explains to the reporter of the “State in the State” program.
– You were born on?
– This is a difficult question – Tadeusz Pędziwiatr, one of the changed men, tells the reporter of the “State in the State” program. In my ID I have the 26th, I was born on the 27th … apparently – he adds.
I was born in a delivery ward. It is known that the baby is looked after by the staff, bringing it to the mother, e.g. for feeding – she emphasizes.
– These mothers received their children only after several dozen hours, and they were replaced – attorney Maria Wentlandt-Walkiewicz (Mr. Tadeusz’s attorney).
– It had to be that every mother came home with her child not her own. After 15 years, as a result of some suspicions, there began to be such deliberations as to whether such a change had not happened by chance – says Mr. Tadeusz.
When the DNA testing was done, the families no longer had any doubts that the children had been swapped.
– When the parents figured out that their children had been swapped, they intended to simply swap their children. There was even such a situation for a moment that the children ended up in biological families, but it did not work. The lives of two families that lived 2 km apart were ruined – explains lawyer Maria Wentlandt-Walkiewicz.
– Grandma, seeing that there was no place for him to even be, took me to her for raising. Until graduation, I was with her, and then I went to the other end of Poland for 25 years. I wanted to close some chapters behind me, I didn’t want to live with it – says Mr. Tadeusz.
A hospital staff error ruined the lives of men. They had a disturbed sense of identity, which was related to the fact that they did not know who they really were. They also struggled to settle down with one and the other family. Finally, they took steps and applied for compensation from the State Treasury. The judgment was final and the money was paid – I read on polsatnews.pl
– The court of first instance awarded Mr. Tadeusz and Mrs. Irena, i.e. son and mother, the amount of PLN 450 each – says lawyer Maria Wentlandt-Walkiewicz.
The Voivode of Lower Silesia filed a cassation appeal and after many years of court battles, a sentence was passed which shocked the families. The Supreme Court decided that the aggrieved parties must return the money awarded, including interest. It turned out that at the time of replacing the children, there were no provisions providing for compensation for this type of harm, says polsatnews.pl.
Based on: polsatnews.pl