Stavanger (Norway) - At the age of 57, two women from Norway found out that they had been switched as babies. The authorities are said to have known about it for some time. Now the victims are hoping for justice.

It is an incredible scandal.

When Karen Rafteseth Dokken (79) gave birth to a healthy baby girl in 1965, the Norwegian was beside herself with joy. She was to be called Mona, like her mother.

But what Mrs. Rafteseth Dokken did not know was that the girl with the dark curls was not her biological child. The Eggesbønes health center had apparently made a mistake and mixed up two newborns.

Little Mona grew up sheltered by a fjord. But somehow she always felt different^, as if she didn't belong, the now 59-year-old told the television station NRK. She had creative interests, while the rest of the family were absolutely crazy about sport, she explained.

The uncertainty grew: Mona asked her father several times whether she was really his daughter. In 2021, the then 57-year-old sent her DNA to a genealogy platform and was totally shocked. "I never thought I didn't have the right mother." A world collapsed for the Rafteseth Dokken family.

Mona finally knew the whole truth, that she had been swapped with Linda Risvik Gotaas as a baby. Both Karen and the two women, only one of whom is her biological daughter, want to remain in the exchange. Mona has no contact with her biological mother, however, as her father is already deceased.

In the meantime, those affected have sued the Norwegian state. A court case is currently pending before the Oslo District Court, NRK reports. Amount in dispute: 20 million Norwegian kroner (1.71 million euros)

It came to light that Mona's biological mother was informed of the mix-up as early as 1983 after a blood test. At the insistence of the authorities, she apparently decided to remain silent. Nevertheless, an internal investigation was launched and the mistaken identity was identified beyond doubt, and the matter was apparently hushed up.

Neither the municipality nor the state want to take responsibility for the case in court. The mix-up had taken place in a private hospital in 1965. When the matter came to light in 1983, there was no authority to inform the families concerned, said Asgeir Nygaard, who represents the Norwegian state in court.

He rejected an out-of-court settlement. The verdict follows.