Valley Firm Sued by Parent of Switched Baby
The mother of one of two newborn girls switched at the University of Virginia hospital nearly four years ago has filed a lawsuit against the San Fernando-based maker of the identification bands used by the hospital, claiming the product was defective.
Paula Johnson of Stafford County filed the suit Wednesday in Los Angeles against Precision Dynamics Corp. of San Fernando, maker of the bands.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. June 25, 1999 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Friday June 25, 1999 Valley Edition Metro Part B Page 3 Zones Desk 3 inches; 103 words Type of Material: Correction
Response--A story in Thursday’s Times about a lawsuit filed by the mother of one of two newborn girls switched at birth at the University of Virginia hospital failed to include response from San Fernando-based Precision Dynamics Corp., which is named in the suit as the maker of the identification bands used by the hospital. The suit claims that the bands were so loose that they slipped off the wrists and ankles of the babies. Nicholas C. Curtin, Precision Dynamics vice president for sales and marketing, said the lawsuit was “totally groundless. This is a clear-cut case where the hospital staff failed to follow well-established procedures to ensure that identification bracelets are properly applied and monitored for snugness.”
The suit claims the bands were so loose they slipped off the wrists and ankles of the two blue-eyed, blond newborns at the hospital in June 1995, and that nurses inadvertently switched the bands when they put them back on the babies.
The girls were sent home with the wrong parents, who did not learn about the mistake until last summer.
Last month, Johnson filed a $31-million lawsuit against the state, the hospital and its staff members after settlement negotiations broke down. That suit seeks $12 million in compensatory damages and $12 million in punitive damages.
The latest suit sets no amount for damages, but alleges the bands were designed so that they could not be firmly attached around an infant’s wrist or ankle and could not be tightened once applied.
John Blakely, Johnson’s lawyer, said Precision Dynamics was negligent for selling poorly designed identification bands.
“I am dismayed that Precision Dynamics continues to market and sell this band that it knows is not effective,” Blakely said in a telephone interview from his Naples, Fla., home. “The U. Va. Medical Center switched [brands of] identification bands after the incident to one that was more effective.”
