A truck driver in Japan found out he was switched at birth and spent 60 years living the wrong life. The man, now 60 years old, took a hospital to court after learning he was supposed to grow up rich but instead lived in poverty. A Tokyo court has ordered San-Ikukai Hospital to pay him around $371,000 for the mistake that happened back in 1953. The mix-up happened when a hospital worker gave two baby boys a bath right after they were born.
The worker accidentally gave each baby to the wrong mother. Nobody noticed the error for almost 60 years. The man who should have been rich grew up without even basic things like a refrigerator or a TV in his home. His father died when he was only two, and his mother had to raise three kids on her own with welfare money. He worked odd jobs while going to school and later became a truck driver. The other boy got to go to private schools, went to college, and now owns a real estate company.
Things only came out in 2009 when the rich family started asking questions. The three younger brothers thought their oldest brother looked different from the rest of them. After their parents died, they decided to do a DNA test, as per NBC News. The test showed they were not related by blood. They looked through old hospital papers and finally tracked down their real brother in 2011. Sadly, his real parents had already died by the time he learned who they were.
He lost everything he could have had with his real family
The court said the hospital had to pay him 38 million yen, which comes to about $371,000. But the man had asked for much more than that. He wanted 250 million yen, or around $2.5 million. The judge said the man deserved money because his whole life would have been different if he had grown up with his birth family. He missed out on a good education and all the chances that come with having money.
At a news conference, the man talked about how he felt. He said he was angry and wished he could go back in time to fix everything. Looking at old photos of his birth parents made him cry for months. “As I saw pictures of my parents, I wanted to see them alive. I couldn’t hold back tears for months every time I saw their pictures,” he told reporters. In another heartbreaking story, a doctor’s kindness years ago came back in an unexpected way.
The two babies were born just 13 minutes apart at the same hospital. After the nurse mixed them up, one went home to a family with money who sent all their kids to good schools. The other went home to a poor family where he could only finish junior high before he had to start working. He got a job at a small shop and later went to night classes to learn more skills.
Even though his life turned out so differently, the man says he is not mad at the guy who grew up in his place. He thinks they are both victims of the same mistake. Since finding out the truth, he has been spending time with his three real brothers.
One of them told him they still have about 20 years left to live, so they should try to make up for all the time they lost. In other shocking news, a simple online sale turned dangerous when a buyer pulled out a weapon. The story has gotten a lot of attention again recently because similar cases have been in the news in China and other countries nearby.
