Who should really be sued for this error

[Bring It On]

Dennis Quaid had infant twins that received 1000 x the dose of heparin in a hospital in California....he and his wife are suing the makers of Heparin and Hep-Loc because the bottles look too much alike....how about the nurse that should have double checked the dose/bottle with another nurse?? Some hospitals require 3 people checking peds meds....now it is Baxter who produced the drug taking the hit...anyone agree??

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[WilcoWorld]

Baxter is not getting sued because it's at fault. Baxter's geting sued because it's got the deepest pockets.

 

[EctopicFetus]

Baxter is not getting sued because it's at fault. Baxter's geting sued because it's got the deepest pockets.

This is the legal reality but the nurses (aka the hospital) might also take quite the lick, cause their pockets are real deep.

 

[bulgethetwine]

This is the legal reality but the nurses (aka the hospital) might also take quite the lick, cause their pockets are real deep.

I hadn't heard this. What was the result? Did the kids have catastrophic hemorrhage? If nothing ended up happening, the lawsuit won't go anywhere since negligence requires harm to occur... at least, from the prospective of malpractice the nurses/docs are likely safe.

I'm not sure how the corporate rules work though in terms of suing the company.

 

[cableguy]

Baxter is not getting sued because it's at fault. Baxter's geting sued because it's got the deepest pockets.

I'm not sure I would agree this is a money issue for an actor like Dennis Quaid. It seems his kids will be ok and the suit is only for ~$50k. It also seems the motivation for the law suit is based on the high number of similar mistakes that happen with heparin due to the easy confusion b/c of the labeling. So, I don't think that it would make since to go after the hospital if you're seeking to resolve a larger issue...

just my thoughts

 

[EM OR BUST]

Baxter is not getting sued because it's at fault. Baxter's geting sued because it's got the deepest pockets.

It was mentioned above, they are only sueing for 50K, so its not a money issue. They want the bottles to be changed so this mistake will not happen again.

 

[Flopotomist]

I normally am against lawsuits chasing the deep pockets and just trying to make a buck, however in this specific case, I think Dennis Quaid should win. There have been MULTIPLE cases in MULTIPLE different hospitals where the SAME error has been made. The company should reasonably be expected to have been aware of these errors, and knew that a simple solution (eg change the bottles to look more different) would save lives, yet they failed to take action.

Where is Law2Doc to give his (her?) opinion?

 

[USCDiver]

I hadn't heard this. What was the result? Did the kids have catastrophic hemorrhage? If nothing ended up happening, the lawsuit won't go anywhere since negligence requires harm to occur... at least, from the prospective of malpractice the nurses/docs are likely safe.

I'm not sure how the corporate rules work though in terms of suing the company.

The twins are both fine. There were three other infants that died from heparin overdose in Indianapolis. This lawsuit is a 'product liability lawsuirt' and has nothing to do with the hospital or nurses involved apparently.

From the CNN article

 

[Winged Scapula]

It was mentioned above, they are only sueing for 50K, so its not a money issue. They want the bottles to be changed so this mistake will not happen again.

That is my take on it: the suit doesn't release Cedars or the nurses involved from culpability, but the mere fact that it has happened multiple times and the manufacturer even saw fit to issue warnings about the similarities in the labels rather than change them, makes me think that suing Baxter (for a nominal amount) is the best approach to this problem.

 

[USCDiver]

This is actually a refreshing case in that the suit is aimed at forcing a systems change that could potentially save lives as opposed to trying to get a quick buck. I would assume the Quaids aren't exactly hurting for cash.

 

[Smoke This]

I would assume the Quaids aren't exactly hurting for cash.

You never know. Good rehab for coke junkies can't come cheap.

 

[vtucci]

If there have truly been multiple cases where mistakes have been made, it might behoove the company to come up with a new package and/or label (trade dress) if such a new bottle is feasible. There are a finite number of bottle types. However, packaging/labeling might be another option.

They will no doubt loose more than 50K in bad publicity because of this affair in addition to any court costs if the suit proceeds. They could always parlay the publicity to show off new packaging should they choose to redesign the bottle.

 

[Faze2]

If there have truly been multiple cases where mistakes have been made, it might behoove the company to come up with a new package and/or label (trade dress) if such a new bottle is feasible. There are a finite number of bottle types. However, packaging/labeling might be another option.
They will no doubt loose more than 50K in bad publicity because of this affair in addition to any court costs if the suit proceeds. They could always parlay the publicity to show off new packaging should they choose to redesign the bottle.

Yeah. Even making one label bright blue and one bright red would certainly help.

 

[deleted109597]

How about not using hep-lock anymore, since it hasn't been proven to be effective, and saline locks work just fine?

 

[It'sElectric]

This is actually a refreshing case in that the suit is aimed at forcing a systems change that could potentially save lives as opposed to trying to get a quick buck. I would assume the Quaids aren't exactly hurting for cash.

My feelings exactly. It appears, from an outside perspective, as though the Quaids are simply doing this to make a change and prevent further harm. They have the money, power, and pulpit to make the changes, so they're doing it. I applaud them.

 

[TeaNCrackers]

My understanding was that the drug company had issued warnings about this possible mix up and did nothing to correct the stock that was out there in the world. This suit is the perfect way to bring this to light and to make the drug company fix it.

 

[leviathan]

Yeah. Even making one label bright blue and one bright red would certainly help.

I was thinking the exact same thing. The same way that Baxter's IV bags of KCl are in bright red writing to differentiate from their black NaCl packages.

 

[WilcoWorld]

It looks like I am guilty of speaking without looking deeply enough into the story, aka talking out of my a$$. In this case it would appear that the Quaids are attempting to effect a systems based change, rather than make a lot of money. However, I think that my original statement is generally true: When a plaintiff brings a case to a lawyer the lawyer will usually try to maximize his or her payout. This may mean going after the deeper pockets or avoiding the defendants with better defense teams, rather than putting all of the effort into punishing the most culpable party. Often times this leads to a suit that does not correspond with the plaintif's primary intentions.