Fighting Against BIG Pharmaceuticals Dennis Quaid Is My New Hero
Actor Dennis Quaid and wife Kimberly Buffington are TRUE HEROS.
Back on November 20, 2007, hospital staff mistakenly gave the Quaid’s twelve day old twins a dosage of Heparin. 1,000 times the common dosage for infants…10,000 units of the anti-coagulant, Heparin. Which could have made them bleed-out, causing DEATH.
Their newborn twins were nearly killed. The hospital error led to a massive drug overdose of Heparin. Old bottles of Heparin are very similar and hence the huge over dose. Baxter Pharmaceutical had not bothered to call back all of it’s old bottles of Heparin, which look alike for children or adults.
The Quaid’s are urging Congress to preserve people’s ability to sue drug companies for injuries caused by their products.
Dennis Quaid and his wife are suing Baxter International, maker of the blood thinning drug Heparin. The lawsuit alleges that Baxter knew that the labels on the child and adult doses of Heparin were confusingly similar. Baxter had already changed its labeling after three infants died from similar Heparin mix-ups. Baxter failed to recall the older bottles with the confusing labels, which lead to the error with the Quaid’s twin newborn children.
Other lawsuits such as the Quaid’s will be thrown out, if the Supreme Court accepts the arguments of the Bush Administration and the FDA (two of my arch enemies) that citizens should not be able to sue for injuries caused by an FDA Approved drugs.
FDA Deputy Commissioner Randall Lutter states that, “FDA believes that the important decisions it makes about the safety, efficacy and labeling of medical products should not be second guessed by state courts.” Personally, I guess that just about puts them up there with G_d, doesn’t it, Baby Boomers?
Rep. Henry Waxman has pledged support for legislation to reverse the Supreme Court’s preemption decision on medical devices. The Quaid’s are urging Congress to do the same for drugs.
If the court rules that preemption also applies to drug makers, “one of the most powerful incentives for safety, the threat of liability would vanish,” said Rep. Henry Waxman, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Dennis Quaid and his wife believe, “that if preemption of lawsuits is allowed to prevail, it will basically make all of us, uninformed and uncompensated lab rats.” I say,” that is what we are now, since there is NO protection from the likes of Baxter or any other pharmaceutical company.”
Taking on big business, like pharmaceutical companies, is not an easy task and some might say, “throwing good money after bad.” I say “KUDOS, Dennis and Kimberley, you are TRUE HEROS.”
Write your Congressman and Congresswomen…raise your voices Baby Boomers, we have the power to do things!
~The Baby Boomer Queen~
Sources:Reuters and Wikipedia
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Wow,
That is horrible . Guess they did not get extra care at that hospitle… Makes you go , hmmmm. I am gonna rethink going into pharma sales.
Welcome back Paige…that is just one story of what Pharmaceuticals have done with out missing a step. All in the name of profit!
More people die every year from Pharmaceuticals than by all of the illegal drugs in the US. Makes you wonder does it not???
Legal drugs bad~~~Illegal drugs…bad
It seems the scale is balanced, does it not?
Thank you for being a regular reader and not a silent one!
Southern smiles and world peace,
Sharon
~The Baby Boomer Queen~