DENNIS QUAID - QUAID HOSPITAL CASE CLOSED

QUAID HOSPITAL CASE CLOSED

Hollywood actor DENNIS QUAID can finally put a 2007 Los Angeles hospital blunder behind him - a judge has officially closed the case that almost cost his twin babies their lives.
The star and his wife Kimberley were awarded $750,000 (GBP493,420) in damages in December (08), after staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center mistakenly gave then-newborns Thomas and Zoe a near-fatal amount of blood thinning drug Heparin - leaving them fighting for their lives. The twins have since recovered and are in good health.
California regulators also fined hospital bosses $25,000 (GBP16,450) after concluding the failure of staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to follow their own procedures resulted in incorrect doses of the drug being administered to Quaid's infants and other children.
The monetary settlement was signed off by an L.A. judge on Thursday (08Jan09), officially putting the case to rest, reports Entertainment Tonight.
Meanwhile, the Quaids' lawsuit against Heparin's drug maker, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, accusing executives of negligence in packaging adult and paediatric doses in similar vials, has been dismissed on grounds of jurisdiction, because the incident occurred in California. The pharmaceutical firm's corporate address is listed in Illinois.