A Windsor Terrace mom whose baby was breastfed by another woman in a hospital switch-up will go to the highest court in the state after a lower court refused to grant her damages for the emotional pain of discovering that the baby’s first nourishment came from the breast of another woman.
“I’m very pissed off,” said Lynda Williams, who sued Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill in 2008. “They were supposed to take care of me and make sure my baby was safe. I definitely will appeal.”
Judges ruled last week that the medical center, located on Hicks Street near Atlantic Avenue, doesn’t owe Williams anything because the error was discovered inside the hospital, and her infant didn’t get sick or injured.
“The plaintiffs have failed to allege a cognizable cause of action to recover damages for emotional distress,” the state Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled last week.
The facts of the case are not in dispute.
Williams’s daughter Jalyn was born on May 21, 2008, but the hospital briefly misidentified the child, even giving her to another infant’s mom for her first meal.
The error was discovered quickly, but that didn’t satisfy Williams.
“The experience was traumatizing,” said Williams, who lives on Prospect Avenue between Terrace Place and Seeley Street.
For months, Williams was worried about the health or disease history of the other mom because HIV and other infectious diseases can be passed through breast milk. Hospital staff assured her that the other mother didn’t have medical problems, but would not provide her records because of patient confidentiality laws.
So Williams sued, citing the “extreme emotional pain, suffering, and anxiety” of the error.
A lower court ruled last year that Williams was entitled to a pay-off, but the hospital appealed. Judges last week ruled in favor of the medical center.
“I’m shocked at the ruling,” said Williams’s lawyer, Lisa Pashkoff, vowing an appeal to the state’s highest court. “The hospital should be held accountable.”
Long Island College Hospital did not return calls before this newspaper’s bedtime.
