Cedars-Sinai fined in Quaid drug mix-up

It's a $25,000 fine for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where actor Dennis Quaid's infant twins were given 1,000 times the intended dose of a blood thinner soon after their birth last November, Andrew Blankstein reports.

Cedars was one of 11 California hospitals assessed penalties because their actions caused, or were likely to cause, serious injury or death in violation of their licenses, said Kathleen Billingsley, deputy director of the state Department of Public Health’s Center for Healthcare Quality.

"The hospitals take this extremely seriously," Billingsley said, adding that the hospitals had taken corrective action.

Twins Thomas Boone Quaid and Zoe Grace Quaid got the mega-dose twice during their stay, the family’s attorney said. Normal blood clotting was restored with the drug protamine sulfate. Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, filed a lawsuit against the hospital.

-- Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times