Dennis Quaid And Wife Settle With Cedars Sinai

LOS ANGELES — Documents show Dennis Quaid and his wife have agreed to a a $750,000 settlement with a hospital that gave his newborn twins an overdose of blood thinner. A petition filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday shows the Quaids and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have agreed on the parents' damages, but can still pursue claims for their children.

The documents state Cedars-Sinai is not admitting wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Documents show the Quaids sued drug maker Baxter Healthcare Corp. in Illinois over the drug's packaging, but that case has been dismissed. The petition filed Monday indicates Baxter may also sue Cedars-Sinai, which administered too much Heparin to several patients in November 2007, including the Quaids' twins.

Comments

[Patientsafetyadvocate]

Perhaps the Quaids have personal reasons for not suing the hospital. If their family members are ever patients in that hospital again, don"t you think the hospital will do everything it can to prevent future medical errors for them? However, we can no longer can we leave everything up to the hospital medical staff. It must now be a collaborative effort between family members and hospital medical staff. If you have a loved one go into the hospital, you can prevent medication mistakes by creating a list of the patient"s medications, dosages, describe the shape and color of any pills and the appearance of labels on bottles and IV bags. Recheck with the administering nurse to make sure the correct medication is given. We as family members must be involved. My book, Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide To Get Your Loved One Out Alive, describes exactly how to be an effective advocate for your hospitalized loved one to prevent all kinds of medical errors.

[Harinama]

i believe that the US medical system is one of the WORST in the "1st" world. Too many dr's and hospitals are in the pockets of Pharma, and i am suspect at all "medication" prescriptions and think of hospitals as dens of death.

My wife went to Swedish hospital here in Seattle for surgery to remove a cyst. The surgery went very well, with a decent surgeon. The aftercare, however WAS ATROCIOUS, with nurses trying to give her the wrong medications, not responding to her requests, and were generally rude. At one point, they had her double medicated on opiates, and left her alone in a chair. My wife passed out, face planted the bed and broke out her front teeth. Their risk manager indicated "dont worry we'll cover everything". He was "replaced" the next day, and we fought Swedish for 4 years to get ANY assistance in medical bills based on an injury ON THEIR PROPERTY UNDER THEIR CARE. We never did get ANY recompense, and spent years having to hassle our insurance to cover it. Swedish can kiss my as_ before i'll ever set foot in one again.

Hospitals are corrupt, breeding grounds for super bugs, with personnel that are poorly trained and over worked. STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE.

[blondecuban]

My mother suffered 3 strokes at Cedars (the last one killed her). She was on a blood thinner because she had a valve replacement, each time they had thickened her blood, and then were supposedly thinning it with heparin. They never got the dose right. If that hospital is one of the top 10 in CA, then I'd hate to be admitted into the worst.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Hold the phone!

Reread this: "...the Quaids and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have agreed on the parents' damages, but can still pursue claims for their children."

Then what the heck was the $750k for? Dennis' emotional pain?

HuffPo needs to adjust the headline.

"Dennis Quaid and Wife get DOWN PAYMENT from Cedars Sinai."

[drumz]

GET A LIFE

[Bitsko]

It's called a lawsuit. Read a dictionary and get over it.

[xmw]

I just love it when hospitals state they are not admitting to any wrong doing. it is clear and afact the twins received too much Haperin. They injected themselves??? Pleezzzzz!!!

[StacyJ]

I'll never forget that story because when it happened I was on bed rest in the hospital with my boy/girl twins who are 10 months old now. I was horrified by what happened to his twins. I'm so glad they recovered.
A couple of months later he was on t.v (I think it was Regis and Kelly ) and he talked about how he was feeding his twins using boppy pillows to prop them up and he fed both at once. I sent my mother out to buy boppy pillows that day. Up until then I was feeding them one at a time and usually the other twin was screaming in the background, so the boppy pillows were a lifesaver. Thank you Dennis Quaid !

[courageunderfire]

Now put that money towards getting stricter laws for this kind of thing. I hope Quaid continues work for change here.

[Tatiana]

I loved him in "The Right Stuff" but since then, not so much.

[American In Chicago]

I liked you when I didn't know you existed but, since you ladled another teaspoon into the ocean of despair over the shallowness and irrelevance of the typical American mind I'm drowning in, not so much.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Ka-smack.

[Tatiana]

You're not clever, intelligent nor funny. And you make no sense, what did you do? Copy/paste something from somewhere and found my post to use to convey something bordering on how you feel more superior than me or whoever else was chosen?
I liked DQ in Right Stuff and that's shallow?
Please go drown, no one will miss you, not so much!

[Patient25]

Errors happens more than the public knows, and people need to be aware that it NEVER ends with a hospital settling even though NO LAWSUIT was filed! This is about PR and knowing that an A-list celeb has the money and media power to fight back in a way the average person does not. 8 out of 10 legitimate malpractice victims in California are unable to get attorneys to take their case due to a 1975 damage cap of $250,000. (www.AmendtheCap.com )
I would like to know if the same settlement was made to the forgotten families of the OTHER CHILDREN INVOLVED! No one speaks about them.
I went into a prominent hospital for a routine procedure and ended up with 'MAN-EATING FLESH DISEASE'. Six operations later, almost having my leg amputated -the hospital's position is I had the disease already. (www.AliciaCole.com ) Too bad i am just a working actress and not a major star. I'd already have justice!
Request a copy of the LA Dept. of Public Health findings in my case: CDPH Federal Validation Survey for Complaint Intake Number: CA00129869. (Public document.)
The CDC estimates that 2 million patients a year acquire infections in the hospitals during their stays....and 100,000 die. I read in one report, the reason the Quaid twins were in the hospital was because of a staph infection.
CONGRATULATIONS TO CEDARS for doing the right thing....At least in this high-profile case.

[MaryinNY]

Good luck with your suit.

Decades ago, my friend's 5 year old died from a staph infection. He had been born with heart troubles, yet they did NOT have a heart monitor on him when he went into crisis - they said they didn't want him to be uncomfortable!

My Aunt died at 34 in a hospital, a week after a 'succesful' surgery. She died from blood clots to the lung - she had had a history of blood clots while being treated at the same hospital yet no regimen was used to prevent this and it was not monitored. This also was decades ago.

So I have long had little faith in hospitals - I think the world of most doctors and nurses, unfortunately, they work in mismanaged places where they are overworked, understaffed and only concerned with JCAHO reportable incidents. Since my daughter's nightmare (see a few comments down), JCAHO has added patient comfort and pain levels to reportable items (at least I heard that). At the time, the only thing anyone was concerned about was her double dose - of course, that was the only reportable mishap through the whole mess.

[luziannagirl]

Yes, good luck Patient25.

My aunt went in for an outpatient angioplasty which she may not have even needed, and ended up with a staph infection of the blood complicated by a massive "stroke" caused by her blood thinner reacting with the antibiotic.

The hospital records were altered, reducing the amount of evidence to pursue a malpractice case.

Her cardiologist tried to kill her by insisting it was brain cancer, and suggested flying her (while comatose) to Memphis for a biopsy, over the objections of all her other doctors. The family did not fall for that, and had him removed from the case. (he finally was kicked out of the hospital, successfully sued for wrongful death by another patient, went to some sort of drug rehab, and reportedly is now back in practice at the same hospital.)

She still has weakness on her left side, and some cognitive impairment.

Over 70 and retired, she had to return to work just to pay her bills. She is a sweet person by nature, remembers almost none of the entire event, doesn't like conflict, and wouldn't let us find her a high-powered personal injury lawyer.

[typicalpol]

we can thank the republicans, Bernie Marcus and of course Bill Frist (who has gone in to hiding so everyone can forget what an ass he was before the 2012 election for president) who helped the pharmaceutical and hospital industries have their mistakes become nothing but a cost of doing business.

[WeCanDoIt]

I am so very sorry to hear about your experience. It never should have happened. And you are doing a public service by letting the rest of us know so we can try to protect ourselves. I applaud you.

But I disagree with your read of this case. I watched the Quaids' 60 Minutes interview. They made no bones about it ... they used their celebrity to bring attention to the matter. They know it happens every day ... and it shouldn't. The Quaids were angry to find out what happened to their children. I don't blame them because they had the means to fight back. Quite the contrary, it would have been wrong if they hadn't used their wealth and power to fight back. There are no winners.

I think the Quaids' legal pursuits did some good in raising awareness. I know we now double check injections when our loved ones are in the hospital.

[Patient25]

Oh no, please do not misunderstand...I AM GLAD THE QUAIDS WON and I think they SHOULD HAVE WON. I just want all of the people who think the hospital did this out of a sense of 'justice' not to be fooled. It took every bit of their fame and resources to win this settlement. Otherwise they would still be fighting for basic information or to get an attorney to take their call.

THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT VICTORY FOR PATIENT SAFETY BECAUSE OF THE LIGHT IT SHINED ON ERRORS.

[Agathena]

The hospital did not do it. One nurse made the inexcusable mistake. Fortunately for the Quaids another alert nurse noticed the twins' distress and life saving techniques were applied. I commend the team who saved the babies' lives, they get no thanks, instead they are tarred with the same brush "the hospital."

The Quaids do not appear to credit the hospital for doing everything possible to reverse the harm and saving the babies. Their lawyer says they are very religious and that they call their babies' survival a miracle.

I believe in miracles too, but i also believe in the heroic life saving acts that doctors and nurses perform a thousand times a day.

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

One nurse made the inexcusable mistake..... TWICE. These kids got 2 rounds of the adult-strength blood thinner. Once is a inexcusable mistake and twice is certainly something the hospital should have caught- and should certainly be negligence.

Any hospital who cares for premies should have been aware of the case at Methodist Hospital Indianapolis where 5 or so premies were MISTAKENLY given the Adult heperin. 2 or 3 of these babies died as a result.

For any hospital not to be aware of that --- and not to take drastic steps to ensure that this did not happen to the babies entrusted in their care- was negligence. Plain and Simple.

Why did they not ensure that the premie medicine was not confused with the adult meds? Are they claiming ignorance of the previous deaths in Indianapolis? At least now, no hospital or doctor will claim that they don't know that you have to check the dosage of a med before giving it to a patient or it could mean certain death. The Quaids are to be thanked by unknown numbers of people who have been saved because of this publicity.

[theratt]

This is not the fault of one nurse. This is a system failure at a hospital full of high-risk situations with overworked staff. No health care worker goes to work intending to do harm to a patient, but when a series of errors, workarounds and oversights line up, you get tragic error. Cedars and all hospitals should learn from this error and make sure it never happens to another patient. I still think the hospitals most egregious misstep was in not informing the Quaids when it happened and in not admitting wrongdoing. Clearly an error was made. It was not intentional, but until you call it what it is, there's no impetus to fix it. They should say, 'yeah, we f-ed up and we're sorry. but we know why and we fixed the system. now it will never happen to another patient or at least the chances are greatly reduced.' If more hospitals took the honorable approach, we could reduce the errors AND lawsuits and maybe put some trust back into our health care system. Until then, I'll be as skeptical as everyone else.

[nippyfan]

Guess who won't be birthing a child at Cedars? me! I'd rather have a friend who is a doctor and nurse bedside at my home. The hospital is doing way too much. They should have small hospitals dedicated to childbirth. There is something creepy about the maternity ward being mixed in with all the tragic wards.

[Mixpixlix]

What I find interesting is when the Quaids appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss the overdose given to their twins they were ABSOLTELY not going to sue the hospital. Instead they focused on the bottle lable and manufacturer. At the time I thought that approach made no sense, but the pharmaceutical company has deep pockets.

If the Quaids really want to make a different they can donate that money to people, especially children, who don't have access to care. They can take a very visible stand for heathcare reform.

As for the hospital not accepting responsibility they never do. But just as in NYC , a few years ago, a CNA was left alone on surgical floor to look after patients. One died when the CNA , exhausted from carrying for too many patients, overlooked the fact the woman has started BLEEDING!!!

The Qaids are lucky that their twins seem to have recovered from this event. But again, the U.S.A. no longer has the best healthcare (in terms of science and technology and hands on care) and we need to demand it be fixed and fixed now!

[MaryinNY]

I too question why they pursued this. If to bring the issue more public - great, if for the money, all I can say is that I wish I could afford to bring suit for all the medical errors done on my daughter.

She was OD'd on morphine which delayed the third in a series of surgeries, the lead surgeon then left town for a conference, she was subjected to a lot of awful tests, she suffered breathing problems for a week, when she finally had the final surgery (by someone who had only assisted on some of the only 15 times this rare procedure was done on lesser cases - though, thankfully, he was wonderful), she was then OD'd again, the nurse ripped cords out her monitor because the noise was disturbing to the intern or whoever had just squeezed the foot where surgery had been done (causing the distress that set off the monitor), while the monitor was down (over an hour), her oxygen tank ran out, her meds weren't given (until the double dose just mentioned), her tranfusion was not going - this all in one visit to one of THE ABSOLUTE BEST Children's hospitals in the world.

(Continued in reply)

[MaryinNY]

The resident that discharged her gave us a scrip for a blood thinner she should NOT have been on (same one a local nurse OD'd her on years earlier, causing an ambulance trip to the local hospital the day after coming home from that surgery). Another local nurse gave was visiting every other day while she was getting this thinner and, despite my questions about it, assured me my daughter's wound was healing even though there was more and more blood every time she changed the bandage. I took it upon myself to stop the thinner, not soon enough though - the staples in the incision had started coming out. The scar she ended up with is horrible - and should not have been so.

As a single mom, caring for my daughter and trying to make a living (acting as nurse, Physical therapist and tutor too as none, or none of any worth, were available in my rural area) I had neither the time, money nor the strength to pursue a court case.

Again, I hope they did this for some greater purpose.

[LeftLeftLeft]

Medical errors are a leading cause of death in the US, making this less of a celebrity story than a wake-up call for the medical profession and the medical consumer. With there being "several" other documented cases of this very error at this same hospital, I doubt that they will be getting off for the amount of this settlement.

[kolorkin]

if they're not admitting fault, then it seems the Quaids just sued for what? the $$? Not holding the hospital accountable and responsible for what was done is irresponsible to the public and others who suffered.

[BillMelater]

It's very hard to second guess the grief someone goes through when things like this happen. It is entirely possible that Dennis and his wife just seek closure and not revenge. Unfortunately, the hospital and the courts would drag things out ad infinitum.

[EladInMo]

Whether Cedars-Sinai agrees to wrongdoing or not mainly affects any future suits that may arise from this or similar incidents. In the real world outside a courtroom when large sums of money are paid it can be assumed the defendant has admitted responsibilty. Whether or not the hospital admits responsibility isn't the important issue that will help guide future behavior. It's the big payout that's the best way to desipline any company into behaving properly and adjust policy/procedure accordingly.

[JoeQuimby]

There are a number of legal reasons why you would take this route. Plus, if the kids were unfortunate enough to develop heath issues related to this incident later in life the earlier civil case would assist them greatly in pursuing compensation.

[rini]

That money could do a lot for awareness of medical error, or whatever cause the Quaids choose.

[rini]

Plus, who are we kidding? By settling, the hospital is implicitly admitting guilt.