Article: Dennis Quaid and His Wife Settle with Hospital

According to the Associated Press:

Documents show Dennis Quaid and his wife have agreed to a a $750,000 settlement with a hospital that gave his newborn twins an overdose of blood thinner. A petition filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday shows the Quaids and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have agreed on the parents' damages, but can still pursue claims for their children.

The documents state Cedars-Sinai is not admitting wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Documents show the Quaids sued drug maker Baxter Healthcare Corp. in Illinois over the drug's packaging, but that case has been dismissed. The petition filed Monday indicates Baxter may also sue Cedars-Sinai, which administered too much Heparin to several patients in November 2007, including the Quaids' twins.

If you recall, the Quaids' twins, along with another newborn at Cedars-Sinai, were accidentally given 1,000 times the normal dosage of heparin. Instead of administering vials with a 10 unit per millileter concentration, the infants recieved 10,000 units per milliliter . According to the lawsuit against Cedar-Sinai, the adult and newborn medications were allegedly stored in the same place, providing opportunity for this very outcome.

The lawsuit against Baxter was a product liability case regarding the labeling and packaging of the vials, which it is alleged were strikingly similar for newborn and adult dosages. Baxter, which used a blue label for both the 10 and 1,000 unit vials, claimed Cedars-Sinai was responsible for improper use of their product.

When the suit was filed, Baxter spokeswoman said, "While we strive to clearly differentiate our products and dosages, no amount of differentiation will replace the value of clinicians carefully reviewing and reading a drug name and dose before dispensing and administering it."

Importantly, and thankfully, none of these infants suffered permanent damage. Sadly, three of six infants given the same 10,000 units in Indianapolis in 2006 were not as fortunate and passed away.

When They Make This Into a Movie, I REALLY Hope They Do a Better Casting Job

According to the Associated Press, Doreen Giuliano, whose son was convicted of murder in 2003, decided to go undercover in search of information that could possibly result in a repeal of his conviction.

And by undercover, I mean:

...blonde dye job, fake tan, sexy wardrobe, phony name -- and began spying on jurors. She befriended one juror to root out any possible misdeeds at the trial, and for nearly eight months, they drank at bars, smoked marijuana and shared meals in her tiny Brooklyn hideaway.

Apparently it worked, because the juror she zeroed in on as a target, Jason Allo, started singing like a canary.

Among other things, the motion accuses the 33-year-old Allo of concealing that he had personal knowledge that Giuliano's son, John Giuca, ran with a rough crowd, and of defying orders to avoid news coverage once the highly publicized proceedings started. It argues that Allo "admitted the outside information he obtained about the case prejudiced him against Mr. Giuca."

In addition to mentioning the rarity of murder convictions being overturned, the article also provides some information about Mrs. Giuliano's son's conviction:

A jury deliberated only two hours before convicting Giuca of second-degree murder in 2005. He and the gunman were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison by a judge who told them that because the killing was callous, "my sentence will be callous."[emphasis added]

Yeah, I somehow don't think that one's going to be overturned, regardless of what Mr. Allo offered up.

The thing that bothers me about this story is the claim by both Mr. Allo and Mrs. Giuliano that there was no physical contact. I'm just wondering how someone can be "seductive" if they never actually seduce anyone. And, well, I submit a photo for further discussion:



You're telling me vegan Vin Diesel started yapping to this supposedly "seductive" older woman because they were BFF and nothing more? Just pals who share joints, tabs at bars, and the cozy confines of small Brooklyn apartments? Really?

Definitely a Thing That Makes You Go Hmmm...

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