Jan 10, 2008, 13:30 GMT
The hospital responsible for nearly killing Dennis Quaid's newborn twins was guilty of "multiple failures".
EPA/PAUL BUCK
The California Department of Public Health has concluded Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace - who were born to a surrogate mother on November 8 - were accidentally given a drug overdose at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last November following a series of safety errors.
The state's 20-page report reads: "This violation involved multiple failures by the facility to adhere to established policies and procedures for safe medication use.
"These violations caused, or were likely to cause, serious injury or death to the patients who received the wrong medication."
The twins - who were released from hospital in early December - were mistakenly given 10,000 units of the anti-coagulant Heparin, which stops the blood from clotting - far and above a baby's allowance of 10.
According to the official report, medical staff failed to check product labels before they dispensed Heparin and did not keep proper records of the drug's usage.
The hospital was also accused of not taking steps to implement its own policies on high-risk medications.
Cedars-Sinai's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael L. Langberg said the state's findings concurred with the hospital's own investigation into the incident.
He said: "While this is a rare event, we are pleased that California's Department of Public Health shares our view that it is an important opportunity for the entire institution to explore any and all ways we can further improve medication safety."
Dennis and his wife Kimberley Buffington have filed a lawsuit against Chicago-based Baxter Healthcare Corp., the maker of Heparin, but not the hospital.
(C) BANG Media International
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