French women switched at birth to receive 400,000 euros - court

GRASSE, France (Reuters) - Two women switched at birth more than 20 years ago will both receive 400,000 euros (296,668 pounds) in damages, a court in southern France ruled on Tuesday.

The court in the town of Grasse also ordered that the private clinic responsible for the mixup pay 300,000 euros each to three of the parents concerned, as well as 60,000 euros each to the brothers and sisters of the plaintiffs.

One of the two mothers discovered that her child was not biologically hers when they took a DNA test in 2004, 10 years after the girl's birth.

Both girls were suffering from jaundice at birth and were placed in the same incubator at the clinic in Cannes, on the Mediterranean coast.

A nurse then switched the babies upon returning them to their respective mothers. The women expressed doubts about the identities of the babies at the time, but were told that no mistake had been made.

The families had sought 12 million euros in damages.

($1 = 0.8854 euros)

(Reporting by Matthias Galante; Writing by Nick Vinocur)