A Calarasi man has been awarded 50,000 lei (~$3,000) in non-pecuniary damages after the court agreed that his switching at birth by personnel at the district hospital twenty-six years ago was a case of professional negligence. The man had demanded six times that amount, but the court decided the claim was exaggerated, Sanatate Info reported.

Tudor was born on 21 April 1992. He had an unhappy childhood because the man who he called father was a domestic abuser, beating his wife often and accusing her of being unfaithful, as the boy obviously didn’t look like him or the relatives. After “father” died, Tudor had to go abroad, as he was rejected by his “relatives”.

It was there that Tudor got a call from his real family. The couple started having serious doubts much later, when they sought a passport for the boy who they took from hospital many years back. A blood type test which is required for the passport returned an odd result and they went to the maternity hospital for answers.

A series of tests, including a DNA one performed in London, confirmed the switch. The hospital had denied any such possibility, but when confronted with the test results, the administration chose to blame the parents for the swap.

Tudor will have to make do with what he was awarded – the court decision cannot be appealed because of statutes of limitations. His biological parents had also sought damages, but they died in the meantime.