Hospital to Pay Actor Quaid and Wife $750K for Twins’ Heparin Injuries

Actor Dennis Quaid and his wife Kimberly will be paid $750,000 by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for hospital errors which led to overdoses of the blood-thinner Heparin being given to the couple’s newborn twins.

The settlement, announced on December 15, 2008, closes a chapter in a high-profile case that shed light on the controversy surrounding Baxter Healthcare Corp.’s popular drug. The Quaid twins suffered life-threatening injuries in November 2007 after hospital nurses mistakenly gave the babies multiple doses of Heparin that were 1,000-times stronger than the diluted form of the drug the twins were supposed to receive.

Similar incidents caused by confusion between the two different doses of Heparin were also blamed for a series of injuries suffered by infants in a Texas hospital in July 2008. In all, at least 28 patient deaths and hundreds of injuries have been linked to mistakes involving Heparin since 2007.

Heparin Packaging Blamed for Confusion

The Quaids and others were victims of deadly overdoses of Heparin that were caused by confusion between the full-strength drug and Hep-Lock, a diluted form of Heparin. Hep-Lock is most commonly used to flush the intravenous lines of infant patients, but it comes in vials that are similar in size and have nearly identical labeling to that of Heparin. Mistaking Heparin for Hep-Lock can cause fatal internal bleeding.

Hospital Admits Mistakes Were Made

Cedars-Sinai officials have said at least three separate mistakes were made by nurses and pharmacy technicians in the case of the Quaid twins, causing the injuries. The mistake occurred because the hospital pharmacy stored vials of heparin alongside doses of Hep-Lock and the nurse administering the medication to the Quaid twins failed to verify that she had the correct dosage.

The Quaids also have sued Baxter, alleging the labeling and design of Heparin and Hep-Lock led to the nearly fatal massive overdoses. That lawsuit, which alleges Baxter knew that other infants had died because of the confusion but failed to recall the high-concentration vials, is still pending in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago.

Joint Commission Recommends Changes in Heparin

In September 2008, the Joint Commission, a not-for-profit organization which accredits and certifies thousands of hospital and clinics in the United States, called on hospitals to adopt stricter standards for the handling of Heparin. The injuries to the Quaid twins and other incidents caused by confusion between Heparin and Hep-Lock were a basis for the commission recommendations.

By taking extra time to double-check prescriptions and vials of the drugs, pharmacy technicians, nurses, and other health-care professionals could help prevent mistakes and fatal overdoses, the commission said.<-->

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