Dennis Quaid Baxter Healthcare Corp Lawsuit; Dennis Quaid Sues Drug Maker Over Twins Overdose
DENNIS QUAID is suing Baxter Healthcare Corp, the makers of the drug his newborn twins were given an overdose of last month. The Quaids are seeking $50,000 or more.
Quaid’s twins, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, were accidentally given massive doses of Heparin, a drug manufactured by Baxter Healthcare Corp., which is used to prevent blood clots.
While a typical dose for an infant would be approximately 10 ml units of the drug, the babies were each administered a 10,000 ml unit dose by mistake at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the lawsuit confirms.
Zoe and Thomas “were very critical for a while” after receiving the incorrect dosage of the drug, the Quaids’ attorney, Susan E. Loggans told the Chicago Sun Times.
The babies have reportedly recovered, but the family wants to stop this type of incident from happening to other children, Loggans told the paper.
In the lawsuit, the Quaids call the vials of Heparin “unreasonably dangerous” because the 10 ml unit and the 10,000 ml unit both had background colors on the label in shades of blue.
“Since a medical error in administration could lead to a dangerous or fatal result, the vials should have been in completely distinguishable size and shape,” the lawsuit states.
The suit further claims as a result of the “dangerous conditions” of the Heparin, “Zoe Grace Quaid and Thomas Boone Quaid, suffered and will continue to suffer injuries of a pecuniary nature.”
On November 8, Thomas Boone was born at 8:26 AM, weighing 6 lb., 12 oz., while his sister, Zoe Grace, followed two minutes later, weighing 5 lb., 9 oz.
Shortly after the overdose, Cedars-Sinai Chief Medical Officer Michael L. Langberg issued a statement regarding the incident, however, did not mention the Quaid family by name.
“On November 18, three patients who were receiving intravenous medications as part of their treatment had their IV catheters flushed with a solution containing a higher concentration of heparin (a medication used to keep IV catheters from clotting) than normal protocol. As a result of a preventable error, the patients’ IV catheters were flushed with heparin from vials containing a concentration of 10,000 units per milliliter instead of from vials containing a concentration of 10 units per milliliter,” the statement read. “The error was identified by Cedars-Sinai staff, who immediately performed blood tests on the patients to measure blood clotting function.”
Langberg also said two patients were given protamine sulfate, a drug that reverses the effects of heparin. He also issued an apology.
“I want to extend my deepest apologies to the families who were affected by this situation, and we will continue to work with them on any concerns or questions they may have. This was a preventable error, involving a failure to follow our standard policies and procedures, and there is no excuse for that to occur at Cedars-Sinai,” Langberg added. “Although it appears at this point that there was no harm to any patient, we take this situation very seriously. We are conducting a comprehensive investigation, cooperating fully with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and will take all necessary steps to ensure that this never happens here again.”
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On December 4th 2007, janey wrote:
Good for them. There are so many mistakes made in the medical community it is great to see someone with money and a bit of clout taking them to task.
On December 6th 2007, Tony wrote:
The bottles clearly say 10 on one and 10,000 on the other. There is no reason to sue the company making the product. Someone just didn’t pay attention. It is ludicrous to think that it is easier to remember that the smaller size is in a square bottle than it is to just pay attention and actually read the lable.
On May 14th 2008, Anonymous wrote:
The hospital gave the wrong dose and he is suing the manufacturer? That doesn’t make any sense. My guess is that he is chasing Baxter just because they have more money than the hospital. That is the wrong thing to do!
On May 29th 2008, Susan E. Loggans and Associates wrote:
Susan E. Loggans & Associates represent the Quaids in their lawsuit against Baxter Healthcare Corporation. As the attorneys for the Quaids, we applaud them for their efforts in speaking out about pharmaceutical safety, defective products, medication errors, and for Mr. Quaid’s recent testimony before Congress in the opposition to federal preemption of state product liability lawsuits relating to FDA-approved drugs. Furthermore, we commend the Quaids for bringing attention to innovations that may help to improve patient safety and to causes that help preserve peoples’ rights to sue pharmaceutical companies for their injuries.
At Susan E. Loggans & Associates we believe that every person has a right to recovery if he or she has been wronged.