Very articulate 60-Minutes interview of actor Dennis Quaid regarding his first-hand experience with preventable medical errors. The video is a bit long, but it is a compelling piece.

Quaid’s twin infant children both received the wrong dose of Heparin, a blood thinner, while hospitalized at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. There were actually two separate overdose incidents for each baby. In each instance, hospital staff gave the drug in doses a thousand times stronger that what is appropriate for an infant.

The description is graphic. Every parent’s worst nightmare. Mr. Quaid explains what those of us who handle these cases have known for a long time. Preventable medical errors commonly kill patients.

The problem is worse because patients are at the mercy of providers. When you’re driving your car, you can drive defensively. But when your child is hospitalized, all you can do is hope and pray that everyone is being attentive.

David F. Sugerman