California Hospital Fined for Heparin Overdoses

According to the Associated Press, the California Department of Public Health fined Cedars-Sinai Medical Center $25,000 for giving overdoses of heparin to Dennis Quaid's newborn twins and an additional unidentified infant. Authorities also cited 10 other hospitals Thursday for violations which caused or had the potential to cause serious injury or death to patients.

Last November, the staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center near Beverly Hills gave Quaid's two-week-old twins an accidental overdose of the blood thinner, heparin. It turned their blood into the consistency of water and almost killed them.

Quaid's twins and the other baby have recovered from the incident without any lasting effects. Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, sued the drug's manufacturer for negligence in packaging different doses of the product in similar vials.

A spokesman for the hospital has stated Cedars intends to pay the fine and cooperate with state investigators. The hospital has publicly apologized to the patients' families and has taken steps to improve staff training in high-risk medication policies and procedures.