$2 Million OKd in Va. Baby Switch; Mother Objects, Will Seek Custody
BUENA VISTA, Va. — A judge on Monday approved a $2-million settlement for one of the families who was given the wrong baby in a hospital nursery, but the girl’s biological mother is fighting the agreement and will seek custody of the child.
Part of the agreement provides money for the grandparents who share custody of Rebecca Chittum. Her biological mother, Paula Johnson, who has custody of the girl Rebecca was switched with, believes the grandparents have no right to compensation and plans to appeal, her attorney said.
“There’s no reason to divert any of this money away from this child to the grandparents,” Johnson’s attorney, John Blakely, told Circuit Judge Thomas Wood. The money would come from the state, which runs the University of Virginia Medical Center, where Rebecca and Callie Conley were switched in 1995.
Johnson took Callie home from the hospital, believing the infant was her child, and has been rearing her.
Rebecca went home with Kevin Chittum and Whitney Rogers, Callie’s biological parents. The couple died in a car crash last July 4, around the time the switch was discovered. Rebecca is being reared by the parents of Chittum and Rogers.
In an interview Monday night, Blakely said Johnson will sue for custody of Rebecca.
No settlement agreement has been reached for Callie.
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