Tuesday, 16 December 2008

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Dennis Quaid settles babies' overdose for $750,000

Twins have a happy ending

Dennis Quaid was married to Meg Ryan

Dennis Quaid and his wife Kimberly have reached a settlement of $750,000  against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for the accidental overdose of their newborn twins in 2007.

The agreement is pending the approval of a Los Angeles judge.

"The settlement is the result of extensive negotiations between the parties and their respective legal representatives, and is intended to avoid the time, expense and uncertainty of litigation," say papers filed in L.A. Superior Court on Monday.

An attorney for Quaid declined to comment.

Just two weeks after twins Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace were born in November 2007 via gestational carrier, they were accidentally given a massive overdose of the blood thinner Heparin, and spent days battling for their lives.

The babies recovered and are now in good health, providing what Quaid, 54, called a "happy ending" to the medical scare.

Cedars-Sinai has been fined $25,000 by the California Department of Public Health. A hospital spokesman said the facility cooperated with state authorities and intended to pay the fine. The hospital has since apologized to the patients' families and said it has taken steps to better train the staff.

The Quaids have also filed a lawsuit against Heparin's drug maker, Baxter Healthcare Corp., accusing it of negligence in packaging adult and pediatric doses in similar vials. The settlement with Cedars does not affect that lawsuits.

Mike Fleeman and Ken Lee