Dennis Quaid files lawsuit against drug-maker

Baxter Healthcare Corp. maker of the blood-thinning drug Heparin, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed today in Chicago by Dennis and Kimberly Quaid.  The couple claim that the vial labels on two vastly different doses of Heparin — 10-units-per-milliliter and 10,000-units-per-milliliter — are virtually identical, and it was that similarity which led a hospital employee to mistakenly administer a potentially lethal dose of the drug to the Quaid’s newborn twins, Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone, turning 1-month on Saturday. 

An attorney for the couple told the Chicago Sun Times that the twins "were critical for a while" after the incident, which occurred at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, but "everything looks good" for them now.  The attorney added that three children died in an Indiana hospital from a similar mix-up, and the Quaids want to prevent the tragedy from ever occurring again.

Of the twins, the Quaids’ rep says,

The twins are back home. Their condition is fantastic, they’re smiling. Zoe looks like her mom,and Boone looks like his dad. They’ve fully recovered from the accidentand it’s doubtful they’ll suffer long-term effects from the overdose. The Quaids are very religious, and they believe their children’s recovery is a real miracle.

Source:  Chicago Sun-Times; People

Comments

Hmmm, I don’t think they would win, because it is still a result of human error.

If the bottles did look that much alike, the hospital should have considered getting their drugs from a different co. or changing out one of the bottles or marking the High dosage bottles differently, I see how this was a mistake, but I also see how it could have been prevented.

Sad anyway you look at it, but I’m happy the Quaid twins are ok now.

- Ivey on December 4th, 2007

Sorry just read about the three in Indiana, if that was more than a couple of months ago, than they might have a case, in that Baxter Health care would be aware that their marketing caused a fatality, and should have rectified that(recalled the drugs etc.), if they didn’t than yeah they should be in big time trouble!!

I really should read the entire post before I post away, shouldn’t I.

Sorry

- Ivey on December 4th, 2007

I disagree. I’ve seen pics of both bottles and they aren’t “identical.” They have different names, different amounts of text, and different colored caps–and amounts written in big letters on the side. Any professional could easily tell the difference. If anyone is at fault, it’s the “professionals” at Cedars Sinai.

- Stef on December 4th, 2007

Thank God the babies are ok. I would sue the drugmaker, the hospital – you name it! The drug should be better labeled and better handled. Bottom line.

- Martina on December 4th, 2007

I do not believe the manufacturer is liable. The FDA approves those labels. So either the hospital or the government need sued, not the manufacturer. IMO.

- angela on December 4th, 2007

Also, the labels are designed using guidelines provided by the FDA. I’ve seen the labels on another site and they look different enough to me. I thin it boils down to hospital negligence, more than anything.

- angela on December 4th, 2007

The labels are quite a bit different. The 10,000 u/mL bottles had no business being placed in the NICU or the Pediatric Ward, the most likely places for the infants to have received the overdose. It is every nurse’s responsibility to carefully check each medication before administration. As it was not an emergency situation (not that that would be an excuse) stress and speed of administration were not factors. Bottom line, it was the fault of the hospital staff, who should have checked for the name of the medication, dose, possible tampering with the rubber top, and clarity of the medication before administering it.

- Sheri on December 4th, 2007

Seems to me that the hospital people who work with the meds should pay attention to the medicine they give out.

I understand that the medicine bottles may look almost alike, but the hospital staff should make a point to pay attention to what they give out.

- J on December 4th, 2007

Nurses are trained to check, check, and recheck EVERYTHING (correct patient at the correct time with the correct medication with the correct dosage, etc.) when it comes to administering medication to infants, and anyone else for that matter. Even though that particular vial should NOT have been placed in the NICU unit, the person who administered the drug should have done their job and triple checked everything. NEVER assume anything when it comes to medication and babies.

- Candace on December 4th, 2007

That is such a frivilous lawsuit. It’s called human error, you want to sue someone, you sue the nurse! Anyone in a medical capacity KNOWS to RECHECK everything! Those labels are different, and regardless, you ALWAYS read the labels! Wrong caps have been put on the wrong bottles a hundred times over which is WHY we have labels!

- Harley on December 5th, 2007

I’ve worked in a pharmacy for years and people would NOT believe how similar drug names, dosages, labeling is. It is absolutely imperative that each time a drug is held in a person’s hand they STOP and READ what they are holding. While I know that sounds so obvious, I’ve seen people GLANCE at a drug that is supposed to be put back on the shelf in the same place every time, but that can be a dangerous HABIT to get into (glancing). As the wrong bottle w/ nearly the exact same name and labeling can (and does) end up on the wrong place on the shelf. If you take the same drug off the shelf 100 times in a day you still must STOP and READ that bottle, vial, tube, etc. Twice over. Every time. I realize we are talking about a hospital incident, but the theory is the same.

- Campbell on December 5th, 2007

Thank god the babies are ok. I don’t blame them for wanting to sue, if god forbid my 2 small babies almost died, I would wanna do the same.

- gianna on December 5th, 2007

I don’t feel pity for the drug company cause I feel that they will still make millions of dollars..lawsuits only maybe hurt a tiny bit of their income. Also, I doubt their lawyer would make such a public statement if they had any doubt they would win.

- Renee on December 5th, 2007

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2007/Heparin_DHCP_02-06-2007.pdf

- Lou Mello on December 7th, 2007

Although I can’t comment about Cedars-Sinai Hospital in LA never having been there and not knowing about the systems that they employ, there are opportunities to improve medication delivery safety.

A large number of hospitals and healthcare facilities have invested in the available automated systems to reduce med errors, or to put a positive spin on it to improve patient safety.

Those facilities that have made the jump and spent the money have seen dramatic reductions in med errors. The wisdom is in putting the patient first over dollars spent. If Cedars hasn’t made the investment, then this is clearly a case where spend the money in favor of patient safety will ultimately have a greater return.

Perhaps the Quaids, if successful in sueing someone, use the money to assure that the correct system is employed at Cedars, a greater good will have been done.

- Rick on December 7th, 2007

Look, I see it in another way. If I were manufacturing Heparin in 2 different doses, I should as a drug company really make these 2 drugs more distinct to prevent fatal errors. It is not just human error, it is also negligent not to repackage and relabel this products in 2006 when the 3 infants died from overdosing. Yes, sure, the technicians and nurse are liable, but really who are we kidding here? If the drug company thinks that they have no liability here, think again. They manufactured the products whether the color is dark blue or light blue. It is their product, their company therefore they are also liable. When any human fatality happens, we all need to stand together for public safety purposes. The drug companies make billions anyway, changing and relabeling should not take so long for them to do. Why even wait until fall of 2007 to make a change with the red tag? Why send a memo warning in Feb 2006? Help the nurses be more safe, should be every drug company’s motto. After we are all in the business to save lives not kill.

- Melody on December 10th, 2007