Dennis & Kimberly Quaid Agree To $750,000 Settlement From Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Just one year after their twins were given an overdose of medication at the Los Angeles area hospital, Dennis and Kimberly Quaid have agreed to a $750,000 settlement from Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Access Hollywood has learned.

Less than a month after the Quaid twins – Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace — were born, a medical worker at CSMC gave the babies a 10,000-milliliter unit dose of Heparin, made by the Baxter Healthcare Corp., instead of the prescribed 10 milliliters. The twins struggled following the incorrect dosage, “bleeding out” according to one report at the time. They later stabilized and eventually went home with their parents.

Following the incident, the Quaids filed suit for a minimum of $50,000 against the makers of the drug, calling the vials “unreasonably dangerous” as both dosages had similar packaging.

On Monday, the hospital filed a Motion for Determination of Good Faith Settlement, outlining the compensation agreement they made with Dennis and Kimberly Quaid.

Though CSMC has not been sued by the Quaids, the hospital reached an agreement to pay the actor and his wife $750,000. The motion notes that Dennis, Kimberly, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace could all be plaintiffs if a suit were to be filed, however, the settlement is just with the parents.

The maximum allowed under state guidelines for the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) is $250,000 per plaintiff.

According to the paperwork obtained by Access Hollywood, the hospital does not admit fault in the incident, but rather noted that if the Quaids filed suit, they would likely be “based on allegations of negligent acts or omissions by CSMC as a health care provider.”

CSMC also noted that “there is an agreed controversy” between the hospital and the family.

The Motion will now be presented to a judge for ruling.

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, shortly after the overdose in November 2007, CSMC Chief Medical Officer Michael L. Langberg issued a statement regarding the incident, however, did not mention the Quaid family by name.

“On November 18, three patients who were receiving intravenous medications as part of their treatment had their IV catheters flushed with a solution containing a higher concentration of heparin (a medication used to keep IV catheters from clotting) than normal protocol. As a result of a preventable error, the patients’ IV catheters were flushed with heparin from vials containing a concentration of 10,000 units per milliliter instead of from vials containing a concentration of 10 units per milliliter,” the statement read. “The error was identified by Cedars-Sinai staff, who immediately performed blood tests on the patients to measure blood clotting function.”

Langberg also said two patients were given protamine sulfate, a drug that reverses the effects of heparin. He also issued an apology.

“I want to extend my deepest apologies to the families who were affected by this situation, and we will continue to work with them on any concerns or questions they may have. This was a preventable error, involving a failure to follow our standard policies and procedures, and there is no excuse for that to occur at Cedars-Sinai,” Langberg added. “Although it appears at this point that there was no harm to any patient, we take this situation very seriously. We are conducting a comprehensive investigation, cooperating fully with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and will take all necessary steps to ensure that this never happens here again.”