French maternity ward to be sued for £10million 20 YEARS after babies were switched at birth

• Babies born to Sophie Serrano and an unnamed French mother in 1994
• Both daughters placed in same incubator because they were jaundiced
• They were unwittingly handed to the wrong mothers by auxiliary nurse
• Clinic worker insisted they be sent home despite doubts from mothers
• Ten years later, DNA test revealed Manon was not biological daughter
• Two babies reunited aged ten, but they asked NOT to be switched back

By Simon Tomlinson for MailOnline

Published: 11:57 EST, 2 December 2014 | Updated: 12:07 EST, 2 December 2014

The families of two babies who spent the first ten years of their lives with the wrong mothers after they were mistakenly switched at birth are suing the French maternity clinic responsible for nearly £10million.

The blunder occurred 20 years ago when Sophie Serrano - now 38 - and another unnamed mother gave birth to daughters at a clinic in the French Riviera resort of Cannes, near Grasse.

Mrs Serrano's baby girl Manon suffered from jaundice and doctors put her in an incubator equipped with lights to treat the problem along with another affected newborn girl.

An auxiliary nurse unwittingly switched them, and although both mothers immediately expressed doubt about the babies, pointing to their different hair lengths, they were sent home anyway.

Ten years later, troubled by the fact his daughter bore no resemblance to him with her darker skin, Manon's father did a paternity test that revealed he was not her biological parent.

Sophie Serrano outside court with her non-biological daughter Manon who was mistakenly given to her at birth after a mix-up at a French maternity clinic 20 years ago. She and another unnamed mother who gave birth to Manon and was handed Mrs Serrano's biological daughter in the blunder are suing the clinic for £10m

Emotional: Manon Serrano wipes away tears as she speaks to media outside court after the damages hearing

Sophie Serrano then discovered she was not Manon's mother either, prompting a probe to try and find the other family who had been handed their biological daughter.

When they were located, it transpired that the daughters had grown up just 18 miles apart.

The other family involved in the case also attended Tuesday's closed-doors hearing, but opted to remain anonymous.

The investigation revealed that at the time of the births in 1994, three newborns suffered from jaundice - the two girls and a boy - and the clinic only had two incubators with the special lights.

The girls were therefore put together in one incubator, according to the lawyer of one of the obstetricians being sued.

Another obstetrician, two paediatricians, the clinic and an auxiliary nurse are also being sued.

'If it happened to us, it may have happened to others,' Sophie Serrano said after the hearing, holding the hand of her non-biological daughter Manon.

Manon Serrano (right) and her mother Sophie Serrano embrace a relative as they leave Grasse courthouse

'There should be exemplary sentences.... we really hope to get this recognition, so as to free us from all this guilt about not having been able to protect your kid, not having insisted when we saw there was a problem.'

For her part, Manon said she was shocked over accusations levelled in court blaming the mothers for not having recognised their children.

'She protested, she found herself in front of a qualified nurse, she was very young, she had just had a child, so putting the blame on her is absurd, I find that inhuman,' she said.

The two sets of parents met their biological daughters for the first time when they were both 10 years old, but did not ask that they be switched back.

'It was a pretty disturbing moment, very bizarre,' said Manon.

'You find yourself in front of a woman who is biologically your mother but who is a stranger.'

The two families have distanced themselves from each other since the meeting 10 years ago.

'It's too difficult, so we each went our separate ways as it's so distressing, it was the only way to find some stability again,' said Sophie Serrano.

The court will rule on the case on February 10.