GRAFTON, N.D. – In a story that has left families reeling and raised serious questions about hospital accountability, a Colorado man says a simple DNA test upended his life, revealing he was accidentally switched with another newborn at a North Dakota hospital nearly four decades ago.

Jeremy Morrison, now 38, always felt like he didn’t quite belong in his family. The blonde-haired son stood out among relatives with darker features, but it wasn’t until two years ago that he decided to take a DNA test to uncover the truth. What he found was shocking: the parents who raised him were not his biological family.

Morrison was born on January 26, 1988, at Unity Medical Center in Grafton, North Dakota, along with another baby boy, Kyle Bylin. According to a lawsuit filed in Walsh County District Court, the two infants – the only ones born at the small hospital that day – were switched by staff before going home with the wrong families. Morrison grew up with Bylin’s biological parents, while Bylin was raised by Morrison’s.

“I know I definitely wouldn’t be here in Colorado today if I went home with the right parents. I would have been working the farm with my older brother that I never knew I had,” Morrison told KKTV.

The revelation has devastated both families, who say they lived just counties apart in North Dakota for decades without knowing the truth. Both men and their respective parents have now met their biological relatives, adding another layer of emotional complexity to the mix-up.

Morrison, Bylin and all four parents are now suing Christian Unity Hospital Corporation, doing business as Unity Medical Center, alleging negligence, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, deceit, and medical malpractice. The complaint demands more than $50,000 in damages and a jury trial.

Legal experts following the case note that switched-at-birth incidents, while rare, highlight potential failures in basic hospital protocols like wristband checks and parental verification, especially critical in smaller facilities. The families argue that the hospital’s alleged mistake robbed them of decades with their biological loved ones and altered life trajectories in profound ways.

Unity Medical Center has denied the allegations, stating its staff met the standard of care and asking a judge to dismiss the case.

The lawsuit comes as DNA testing has become more accessible, exposing long-hidden family secrets and forcing institutions to confront past errors. For Morrison and Bylin, the fight is about more than money, it’s about accountability for a switch that changed two lives forever.

As the case moves forward in North Dakota courts, it serves as a stark reminder of the human cost when medical facilities fail to protect the most vulnerable: newborn babies and the families who trust them with their care.