In recent news that our Washington D.C. Medication Error Attorneys have been following, Hollywood actor Dennis Quaid has filed another lawsuit against Baxter Healthcare, Corporation after his newborn twins were given a near-fatal overdose of Baxter’s medication in a Los Angeles hospital.
In the high profile incident, Quaid’s newborn twins were given an overdose of the medication Heparin, a blood thinner, due to an alleged medication mix-up of Baxter drugs that that have similar looking labels with hard-to-read fine print. The twins were incorrectly given 10,000 units of the drug Heparin, instead of the 10 units of Hep-Lock that was orginally prescribed to treat a staph infection.
After the dismissal of a similar lawsuit filed against Baxter in Illinois, Quaid is going after Baxter again, filing a second lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. Quaid claims that the healthcare corporation acted negligently, and did not recall the 10,000 Heparin vials or warn hospitals and medical providers of the possibility for drug error after similar medication mistakes had occurred, resulting in the injury and wrongful deaths of infants.
The complaint claims that Baxter was obliged to alert hospitals and healthcare providers about the previous drug errors, and correct the labels to prevent the medication errors from happening in the future.
The Quaids originally sued the Los Angeles hospital where the accident occurred, and agreed to settle for $750,000—although the hospital did not claim any wrongdoing.
Baxter reportedly claimed in a statement that according to investigations by the California health officials, the medication error happened as a result of someone not reading the label correctly on the Heparin vials.
Quaid’s twins were born in November of 2007, and spent ten days in intensive care, after the accidental overdose of the Baxter medication. Quaid claims in the complaint that his twins suffered internal injuries and shock from the accidental drug overdose, and appear to have recovered—however the complications of the overdose and the long-term injuries may not be known for years, and could be permanent in nature.
Quaid is seeking medical expenses and punitive damages, and has asked Baxter to create a fund to cover the possible medical expenses of the twins for the future.
Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represent medication error victims in Maryland and the Washington, D.C. area. Contact our attorneys today for a free consultation.
Quaid Sues Healthcare Company, Toronto Sun, May 24, 2010
Dennis Quaid Files Lawsuit Over Drug Mix-Up, The Injury Board National News Desk, May 26, 2010
Dennis Quaid Sues Again Over Twins Drug Overdose, Reuters, May 25, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Baxter Healthcare Professionals
U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Medication Error Reports