Brno - The regional court in Brno is to decide about the compensation of a baby swap that took place a few months ago in the city of Třebíč, some 160 kilometres south-east of Prague.

It took whole ten months before the two baby girls rejoined their original families of Jan and Miroslava Čermáks and Libor Brož and Jaroslava Trojanová. For the hospital´s failure and for the psychological suffering both families endured during and after the swap they are seeking a compensation worth CZK 12 million (EUR 484,000).

Read more: All is well that ends well. Except for a baby swap

"All sides involved are willing to reach a deal," lawyer Igor Veleba who represents both families said at today´s hearing. "We haven't agreed on one thing yet  - on the sum," he added. Veleba turned down the "arbitration settlement" offered by the hospital.

Violation of right for privacy

The lawyer of the hospital Ondřej Dostál hoped that the families would accept the compensation they were offered. "I found the sum of CZK 600,000 offered to both families very acceptable and without a further scope of the harm being proved, the hospital is not willing to increase it," he said.

"It is a non-material harm and the expertise speaks of no physical harm, only of violation of the right for privacy and family life," Dostál argues, adding that the sum should be lower than CZK 240,000 commonly paid as a compensation for a death of a relative.

However, Veleba believes that this is a "simplification" of the suffering, because the psychological damage both families underwent is much graver. "Their suffering is not over yet," he said.

That's why both families demand CZK 12 million in compensation.

Similar cases

The expertise prepared by the Motol hospital in Prague before the girls returned to their biological mothers states that the parents suffered from psychological distress on several levels.

The hospital lawyer argued that both families were paid for appearing in media, including private TV NOVA that is alleged to have paid CZK 50,000 to each family.

Judge Michal Ryška has had experience with similar cases of a hospital´s failure. Recently, he increased a compensation of CZK 655,000 up to CZK 800,000 to be paid to a family whose newborn died due to a hospital´s negligence.

In other case, Ryška decided that a mother who underwent an unsuccessful abortion and subsequently gave birth to a child was to be paid a compensation of CZK 80,000.