Dennis Quaid and Wife Sue Drug Maker

[Radio_Lady]

Source: Associated Press

Dennis Quaid and Wife Sue Drug Maker
By ROBERT JABLON – December 4, 2007 (35 minutes ago)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dennis Quaid and his wife sued the makers of heparin Tuesday after their newborn twins were inadvertently given massive doses of the blood thinner at a hospital.

The product liability lawsuit, filed in Chicago, seeks more than $50,000 in damages. It claims that Baxter Healthcare Corp., based in Deerfield, Ill., was negligent in packaging different doses of the product in similar vials with blue backgrounds. The lawsuit also says the company should have recalled the large-dosage vials after overdoses killed three children at an Indianapolis hospital last year.

The company had not been served with the lawsuit and could not comment specifically on it, spokeswoman Deborah Spak said. However, "this is not a product issue. The issue here is about improper use of a product," she said. "While we strive to clearly differentiate our products and dosages, no amount of differentiation will replace the value of clinicians carefully reviewing and reading a drug name and dose before dispensing and administering it," she added.

This fall, the company changed its heparin packaging by adding a red caution label that must be torn off before the vial can be opened. The Quaids' children, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, and a third patient were at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Nov. 18 when they were mistakenly given vials of heparin that were 1,000 times stronger than the usual dosage.

FULL STORY AT LINK --->



Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5imY_A4lwfpdsw20ZU8GmmeAwaNMgD8TB0P7G0

---

Many of us DUers were discussing this story a few days ago. Both of the threads below are now archived.

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=2323043

And here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=2325564

I just hope those children survive with no defects because of this tragic mistake.

In peace,

Radio Lady

[tridim]

1. I'm glad they're not suing the hospital. nt

[Lance_Boyle]

28. Why? It was a dosing mistake BY THE HOSPITAL STAFF.

Regardless of "similar packaging," hospital staff are responsible for dispensing the proper amounts of drugs to patients. There was in incident at Duke a couple of years ago in which a patient was given a donated organ of the wrong blood type, and died. The hospital was sued, not the organ procurement organization, despite the fact that all transplant organs arrive in the OR in "similar" packaging.

Hospital's mistake, not drug maker's.

[woodsprite]

31. It's a staffer's mistake.

I was on Heparin when I was pregnant, and again when I had surgery last year. When I was pregnant, I gave myself the shots, but they cautioned me to have my husband doublecheck my 'dose' before giving it to myself. Last year, 2 nurses would come in to give me my shot. One read the chart and told the other one how much to give me. When the meds were drawn up, the one holding the chart checked the syringe to verify the amount. They also doublechecked my name band and asked me my name.

[superconnected]

42. I'm pretty sure they want packaging changed so it's easier not

to make the mistakes since 3 kids died. This isn't a "money" lawsuit. They're only suing for 50 grand. It's to change the packaging.

[Flatline]

32. They should sue the Hospital and the staffer as an individual IMO. n/t

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

34. Why?

Because the employee (dr or Nurse) neglected to read the dosage on the medication they were giving?

[BlueIris]

2. Best of luck to Mr. Quaid and his spouse and their children. nt

[LakeSamish706]

3. I hope they take these suckers for a gazillion.... Last I heard the kids were doing fine... n/t

[aquart]

6. They're a little young to test for developmental disabilities.

I don't know how anyone can be sure that the bleeding didn't do serious damage over the long term.

[Radio_Lady]

8. Our son-in-law, who is a doctor, recognized that a brain bleed would cause damage...

that might go unnoticed for months or years. Would there be a statute of limitations on that aspect?

What if disabilities are discovered later?

Does this litigation preclude or exclude the possibility of suing the hospital and its staff or technicians?

I'm only the daughter of a lawyer, but perhaps these are things they have thought about already.

[SKKY]

25. Actually, they could detect developmental disabilities almost immediately...

[rainbow4321]

26. Not all of them...

Walking, fine motor skills, language deficits....just the start of a list that cannot be assessed until a child gets older and reaches the age that the above skills actually begin to show.

[liberalmuse]

4. This is good.

Maybe it will prevent more senseless oding of babies in the future. How hard is it to create different-looking bottles for vastly different doses of medications?

[Radio_Lady]

5. Liberalmuse, I couldn't agree with you more.

We get all of our prescriptions in the same all-white bottles from our HMO. Really stupid.

Several of our medications start with the letter "A" It's quite easy to mix these up.

Most of them are all white pills. A couple of them are salmon-colored and almost the same size.

We have to put on our glasses to read the labels.

So what would be so hard if they devised COLORED STRIPS or LABELS or CAPS to identify them better? I thought some company was already working on that several years ago!

Making peace a priority for the holidays -- and every day.

Radio Lady in Oregon

[momster]

13. Sharpies in Different Colors

Mark the lids & labels yourself...until the companies get around to it after 50 deaths, 5 lawsuits and 100 million in damages.

[Radio_Lady]

15. That's a REALLY good idea! We tried alphabetizing, and pill pods, etc.

But your idea is better.

Thanks a bunch!

[aquart]

41. And if someone picks up the wrong Sharpie?

Pills of different strengths come in different colors. The premise is established.

[Mojorabbit]

23. I have this problem too

and I take a black sharpie and write the meds name in big letters on the bottle. Then I don't need to find my glasses to see what I am taking.

[Radio_Lady]

47. That's an equally excellent solution -- requiring only ONE Sharpie.

You folks are amazing.

[aquart]

7. And how dare they not do a recall after the first incident?

I'm glad a high profile couple filed this suit.

[Radio_Lady]

9. Yes, it's sad but true. The press will continue to follow this human interest story because of

their celebrity.

[Radio_Lady]

12. Here's the Permalink to TMZ.com story with some more details:

http://www.tmz.com/2007/12/04/dennis-quaid-sues-drug-company/

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

35. While the company had a responsbility to package things right

How hard is it to read the chart of the patients and the label of the med youre giving them?

I would say 10% manufactures fault 90% hospital/employee..

[aquart]

40. I'll go fifty-fifty.

[NoodleyAppendage]

10. Quaid just shot up in my book. He's the real deal.

I knew there was a more fundamental reason for why I liked him in Dreamscape.

J

[Radio_Lady]

16. Dreamscape from 1984! Wow. He's done a lot since that one.

Four films either completed or in post-production as of 2008.

I really liked "The Rookie" (2002) and "Frequency" (2000). He had a role in "Far from Heaven" also.

http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0000598/

[frogcycle]

11. This is a stretch.

How hard is it for a supposed medical professional to actually look at the damned container?

I agree that adding further differentiation is good - and could have been thought of sooner. But I can't see calling it negligence.

[1932]

22. That's what you say the FIRST time you find out about a mistake.

But if you keep hearing that there's a problem, and you don't do something, then you might get sued.

[AnneD]

29. This is easier than you think.....

Heparin is one of the top drugs involved in medical errors, as is insulin. It comes in different dosage strengths and the vials are so close. And with children-one give minuscule amounts. One of the ways that they try to prevent errors is by having a pyxis machine dispense the meds....but I have seen those filled with the wrong meds/wrong strength. If the vials look alike-even the most skilled Nurse can make a mistake....and whose fault is that....the drug company that wanted to save a few pennies and didn't do something as simple as change the colour of the label, the pharm that may not have seen the difference due to the high number of orders or the fact that he is a temp worker. or tech that but the wrong med in the pyxis slot or the overworked Nurse that has 11 patients (with 5-10 meds per patient all in blister packing that has to be opened) that have there meds due all at the same time, or the hospital CEO that decided that buying the drug in bulk. And I won't even get in to poorly written, wrongly calculated doses.

In court case after court case, it has been the Nurse that has born the brunt of the burden of error. It is easier and cheaper to fire the 'bad' Nurse than correct the Dr., Pharmacist, Hospital CEO, or Drug Company. I think bar coding of all meds is the most fool proof as we can get but that costs money.

I have stopped bedside Nursing because of the unrealistic demands place on bedside Nurses. I was always chastised for being 'slow' in my med passes because I actually tried to check everything-and even then I would occasionally have an error (and thank God they were not fatal just near misses as they say). It is bad when these things happen and no one goes into medicine to cause harm, but this blame game needs to stop. Folks need to look at the mistakes, find the reason for the mistakes, and come up with a better delivery system. I think bar coding might be a solution.

I truly feel for the Quaids. This is a tragedy. We can only hope that they can recover from this setback.

Edited to add that I think this does not excuse anyone from the liability of taking care of the Quaid's children. An error was made and things need to be made as right as possible. The Quaids should only need to pay the normal expenses for their children. All other therapies (speech, physical, additional help monitering etc) should be provided at not cost to them

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

37. Bravo Sierra

"but I have seen those filled with the wrong meds/wrong strength. If the vials look alike-even the most skilled Nurse can make a mistake....and whose fault is that....the drug company that wanted to save a few pennies and didn't do something as simple as change the colour of the label"

I had to give my wife these shots for blood clots while pregnant. You read the label before you give the shot... Colors and shapes be damned its right their in set print..

[AnneD]

39. Once again....

it is easy to read labels when you have only one patient to give one drug to. But when you have so many patients, and you have different strengths of the same med, different syringe calibrations, etc....it adds one more unnecessary risk factor.

Remember, the goal is to make it as goof proof as possible. If the vials are colour coded, you are more likely to catch it at first glance.

The pharmacist is suppose to pull the right med, the tech is suppose to stock the right med and the Nurse is suppose to administer the right med. I know how hard it is to just administer the meds-and frequently you are under such time constraints. An improper med or wrong strength of med should have already be caught at 2 different check points before it even gets to me. More times than not I caught a mistake because the colour and shape of the pill was different than I was use to seeing or the labeling on the vial was a different coulour (why pharmacy didn't catch THAT I'll never know). I have even seen the wrong meds with the patient's name on them and had to check the orders to make sure it had even been prescribed (it wasn't). I had to do research in the middle of a med pass!

As I said before, no system is fool proof, but bar coding has promise. I am human, and try as I might, I know that mistakes will continue to happen if we continue the same system. I do not like the way Hospitals do Nursing-they are more concerned with profit than safety. They don't live up to my standards of Nursing, there for I do not take bedside positions.

[nbcouch]

14. Meanwhile, over at Fox Nooz...

...they are whining that the Quaids shouldn't sue ANYBODY, that it was an honest mistake, a simple mix-up. Corporate whores like the Murdoch Gang see no liability issues in "simple mistakes" that are both avoidable and potentially fatal. It's criminal that this mindset took over the White House when BushCo were placed into power.

[Bicoastal]

24. No liability?!

Don't they realize how much this "simple mix-up" will cost the Quaids in the long run?

I know, I know, trial lawyers like John Edwards are to blame, whatever--but if our country's health care wasn't so screwed up, families wouldn't desperately NEED the malpractice money to fix the doctors' mistake--it'd be covered free of charge!

It's not about whose fault it is, it's about who's going to pay for it to be fixed.

[nbcouch]

33. The problems that arise

from our broken, overpriced health care system (if you can call it that) are easily addressed, according to the Corporate Whore model. It starts with tort reform - eliminate the citizen's ability to collect for damages and redress grievances inflicted by the system. They've already made the system expensive and byzantine and run by companies who are remote and virtually impenetrable. It works only for the very wealthy and well-connected, if at all.

[underpants]

27. It's just lives hell we lose people everyday in Iraq

So who gives a rip?

:sarcasm:

Welcome to DU :hi:

[defendandprotect]

17. So sad that healthy newborns are victims of incompetence by both drug companies

AND hospital personnel ---

Further -- there were two steps that personnel were to follow which would have prevented this --
and would have kept the higher dosage OUT of the pediatric area --
THEN, the last step was also ignored ---

I think both hospital and drug mfg should be sued ---

and $50,000 sounds like very little for what could have potentially happened ---

ESPECIALLY, when other newborns died prior to this ---!!!

Overall, it shows just how dangerous our "medial practicews/medicine" are ---

it sucks!

[Radio_Lady]

18. Thank you for your comments.

Making peace a priority for the holidays -- and every day!

[AngryAmish]

30. $50,000 is the minimum for the court this was filed in

The suit was filed in the Law Division of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois. There are 3 courts in Cook County where this could have been filed, small claims, municipal department and law division. The jurisdictional amounts are ,$5k small claims, $5-50k for municipal department, and >$50k for Law Division. $50,000 is a minimum and is just plead to keep it in Law Division.

A lot of times one hears about people asking for outrageous sums in lawsuits. One can do that in Illinois, but it is not done by trial lawyers that know what they are doing. First and foremost, it is seen as bush league/publicity seeking. There is a midwestern/Catholic modesty culture among trial lawyers in Chicago. Second, every pleading is an admission. If you ask for the moon, the first thing a defense attorney can do in opening statement is point to the prayer for relief (asking for $455 trillion) and say that the plaintiff is just greedy. The jury has that in their mind the entire trial, coloring everything they see. You ask for real money in closing argument, after you have proven your case.

[NoGodsNoMasters]

19. Scary.

If it was my family I'd be so pissed. They have every right to sue.

[rainbow4321]

20. I realize this will get me flamed

But, IMHO, the drug company has a big point...it is the responsibility of the licensed person administering the drug to make sure they are doing the FIVE rights of giving a medication-- one being "right drug".

I find it hard to believe the hospital doesn't have in place what most facilities use: all meds given to infants are doubled checked with another licensed provider, both look at the bottle, both look at the syringe and the patient's med record to assure it is the correct dose, etc. BOTH clinicians then sign the med record. And if they didn't have this policy before, do they NOW??

Sorry, but as a nurse, I can tell you the excuse "the bottles were the same color" doesn't get you off the hook for a med error.

[1932]

21. Once you know the way you label or package something is prone to mistakes

and you don't take reasonable steps to fix it, you set yourself up for a negligence suit.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

38. Have you seen the bottles pharacies dispence?

They are all the same color... good thing their is a label..

I would not say this drug is prone to mistakes I don't think you know how often it is dispensed. I had to give it to my wife for a few months. Literally Millions upon millions of doses of this thing get used yearly and there are a handful of errors because every vial has a label!

[1932]

45. see posts 29 & 39

dealing with one patient is not the same as dealing with 12 every day.

A pharmacist labeling one drug for an individual to use doesn't raise the same issues as the way the drug manufacturer packages and labels the products that get used by hospitals/pharmacists.

[Akoto]

36. Wha? Why are they suing the drug manufacturer?

Properly administered, the drug would not have caused a problem. It wasn't the maker that gave the newborns many times the proper dose, it was the staff at the hospital.

[Radio_Lady]

43. I guess the judge in the court system in Illinois will have to decide this.

[Radio_Lady]

44. Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful comments on this sensitive story.

Sorry, but I've been away slaying dragons :sarcasm: and celebrating Chanukah :hug:

[Jennicut]

46. I am a diabetic and dread having anyone ever have to dispense insulin to me

All the labels are so confusing to people, trying to explain the difference between humalog and lantis insulin to my parents is hard enough. I accidentally gave myself 40 units of the instant humulog insulin in the early days of being diagnosed and I was so disoriented. Luckily my mother was there to help me and make me eat something. I really hope this lawsuit makes drug companies realize they need to do a better job with drug packaging. I have a 3 year old and 2 year old and their cough medicine was taken off shelves earlier this year to repackage labeling to prevent overdoses. What is so wrong about doing the same for heparin. Lets face it, human error is going to happen. We are not machines or robots. However, it can be lowered by making labeling better and easier to understand.

[Radio_Lady]

48. Thank you, Jennicut. I appreciate your telling your story.

There are so many possible errors with pharmaceuticals.

Once, the doctor ordered Prilosec for me and when I got to the pharmacy, they had packaged Prozac!

Luckily, I knew the color of the capsule was wrong immediately and they apologized and filled it correctly.

There are other drugs with similar and confusing names... but I just remember those because of my experience.