Actor Dennis Quaid (right) with wife Kimberly Quaid on May 19, 2010. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Reuters | Actor Dennis Quaid has sued a drug maker over an accidental overdose of
the blood-thinner Heparin that threatened the lives of his newborn twins
in 2007.

The star of movies “The Rookie” and “The Big Easy” filed the lawsuit in
Los Angeles Superior Court last Friday on behalf of his children.

It seeks unspecified damages against Baxter Healthcare Corp, a unit of
Baxter International Inc, alleging that the overdose was due to a mix-up
over similar labeling in different doses of Heparin.

According to the lawsuit, the Quaids’ twins were given 10,000 units of Heparin rather than the 10 units of the Hep-Lock they were prescribed to treat an infection. They have since recovered but the lawsuit said the effects of the overdose may not be known for years.

Quaid also claimed that Baxter should have recalled the 10,000 unit vials of Heparin and warned medical providers because similar mistakes had happened previously.

Baxter was not immediately available for comment.

Quaid, 56, and his third wife Kimberly Buffington had twins Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone via a surrogate in November 2007. Ten days after their birth they were in intensive care in a Los Angeles hospital after the accidental overdose.