URALS, Russia, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- A Russian court has ordered a hospital pay $101,200 each to two families whose children were accidentally swapped at birth 12 years ago.
The Belyayev and Iskanderov families asked for $165,941 each in moral compensation from the hospital, but the court in Urals ordered Monday that each family get $101,200, RIA Novosti reported.
The swap was discovered after the Belyayevs filed for divorce and the father requested their daughter's DNA for a paternity test. The test revealed neither of the Belyayev were the biological parents of their daughter and a police investigation discovered their actual daughter was living with the Iskanderovs.
When the girls were born 12 years ago, the staff at in the maternity ward at a Chelyabinsk region hospital mixed up the baby tags after the mothers gave birth.
Natalia Shtreker, a lawyer for the complainants, said both families were pleased with the outcome and would not be seeking appeals.
"We are satisfied with the result and with the amount of compensation. We believe that it [the amount] is fair," she said.
The girls are reportedly having trouble taking in the information that the people who raised them are not their biological parents. Both families have expressed their reluctance to switch the girls back.
Shtreker said the biggest problem is that the Iskanderovs, originally from Tajikistan, brought their girl up as a Muslim.
"It is difficult to say how this problem will be resolved in the future. Even the parents have still not decided how to cope with it," Shtreker said.
