Dennis Quaid: Medical Errors Nearly Killed My Twins

By PopEater Staff Posted Apr 15th 2010 06:10AM

Dennis Quaid is finally revealing that his newborn twins nearly died after a medical error at a Los Angeles hospital. In 2007, while they were at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Thomas and Zoe Quaid were accidentally given an overdose of the blood thinner heparin, Quaid said in a recent interview with the Associated Press.

"There were 41 hours where their lives were in the balance." He said it was the most frightening day of his life and left him and his wife, Kimberly, in "shock, anger and confusion."

After doing some research, Quaid realized this problem was widespread and decided to raise awareness. Even many health care leaders are not aware of how big the problem is, he claims.

He added, "This is a preventable error." At the time, Quaid and his wife had agreed to a $500,000 settlement with the hospital.

Quaid has produced a documentary about medical mistakes called 'Chasing Zero: Winning the War on Heathcare Harm,' which will air on the Discovery Channel April 24."If you hit them in the heart, it sets the hands to work," he said.

Quaid said his twins have "apparently no ill effects" from their ordeal. "We were really lucky to have a happy ending," he said.

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Tags: Dennis Quaid

Comments

(31)

Thursday 15 April

By tjwiener

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well, Mark..., do you even know how much a doctor makes? that is after he pays back his student loan for his 11 plus years of education? Get accurate info before slamming a profession. Sorry, this one WAS nursing error. Even if it was stocked wrong, she should have checked the label before administering the drug. The physician wrote for the correct drug.

By Beth

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Mark - hold on to your bootstraps because the fact is that most doctors dont make much money anymore...which is exactly why after all the college and its expenses...people dont want to be doctors anymore. Someday when you get really sick and cant find a good doctor because the good ones left the country to make money elsewhere...well...so sorry so sad...wait in line for the crappy doctors that will be left behind...

By WinterWoods

The problem with the Heparin labeling was wide spread. This has since been corrected by the manufacturer; but many infants throughout the Country were given elevated doses of the drug prior to the label change. Most hospitals have a policy in place requiring 2 RN's to check the dose before the drug is administered. I don't know if the hospital in question had that policy in place, but I bet they do now. Thankfully the Quaids babies are o.k..

By j

I agree . Why is this news ? This is an old story that was beaten to death . Slow news day ? What , no alleged terror attacks to whip to death

By jen

You weren't lucky, Dennis.....you were blessed.

By beth

@ j......they are reporting on this story again today because of the special that is airing on the Discovery Channel on April 24.

By Marie

Why do people blame the family. Doctors and Nurses have to be held to high standards. They are not carpenters or Lawyers and not in a profession where they can be so careless because they are dealing with human lives. I don't blame Mr. Quaid and his wife I would sue also just to show the Medical Profession that their mistakes can maim or kill a person. Thank goodness it turned out for the best and the children were . I snot killed or permanently damaged for life I say more power to them it is not the money but a lesson for careless medical professionals.

By S. W. Shipman,MSN,PA,RN

Twiener & Joe you both hit the nail on the head. IT WAS A NURING ERROR. Packaging that was similar should cause you to read twice and ask a another nurse to check it with you. I know this takes more time but you must make the time. As for Dennis and his problems, I wonder if he has ever had to do two or more TAKES to get his job done. I know we are rushed off our feet but that is no excuse. Doctor, nurses and patients or patients parents should always ask questions about what medication and how much.
It's for ALL of us to be vigilant. My recent trip to the ER cause me to refuse the medication the Dr. ordered and nurse was about to give....both medicine and dose for that drug was WRONG, besides it being the wrong med.

By Lori

Hopefully a valuable lesson was learned from this near tragedy. I also hope Dennis Quaid donated the money to charity, maybe one that will help save other children in the future.

Friday 16 April

By VW

GOULIGO ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME???? WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET YOUR MEDICAL TRAINING, GOOGLE??? These were tiny babies already at risk hense the heparin being given in the 1st place. Then you administer more drugs which will A)undo what they were attempting to do in the 1st place & B)place more chemicals in their bodies that they can have a reaction to. When I administer heparin subQ to an adult, I have the latest lab results in my possesion to prevent overdosing. And FYI two babies died here in Texas that I know oftterby9322@. Why dont you check google & get the facts straight before you post?!

Tuesday 17 August

By Ed Casey

An Institute of Medicine report is also old news, please look it up. Mr. Quaids story is typical of medical errors and should be told over and over until everyone in the country is aware of this problem.

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