NEWS FLASH: DENNIS AND KIMBERLY QUAID SUE BAXTER HEALTHCARE CORPORATION - A COPY OF THE SUIT IS AVAILABLE HERE.

The Food and Drug Administration recently confirmed that the number of deaths tied to a commonly used blood thinning drug had risen from 4 to 21. Much of the nation's supply of heparin, produced by Baxter International, has already been removed from distribution and an expanded recall is expected. (See note below about additional companies that may have supplied contaminated heparin).  Investigators have been unable to identify the source of the problem but are focusing their attention on Chinese plants that supplied the active ingredient of the drug. [from news reports]

The recalled Heparin includes the following Baxter products:

• Heparin Sodium Injection 1000 units/ml — 1 mL, 10 mL and 30 mL Vials
• Heparin Sodium Injection 5000 units/ml — 1 mL and 10 mL Vials
• Heparin Sodium Injection 10,000 units/ml — 1 mL, 4 mL and 5 mL Vials

Heparin is used to prevent blood clots from forming in in people who have certain medical conditions or who are undergoing certain medical procedures that increase the chance that clots will form. Heparin is also used to stop the growth of clots that have already formed in the blood vessels, but it cannot be used to decrease the size of clots that have already formed. Heparin is also used in small amounts to prevent blood clots from forming in catheters (small plastic tubes through which medication can be administered or blood drawn) that are left in veins over a period of time. Heparin is in a class of medications called anticoagulants (’blood thinners’). It works by decreasing the clotting ability of the blood.

Serious reactions to the drug have included difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, excessive sweating, and rapidly falling blood pressure that can lead to life-threatening shock.

If you think that you or someone you love may have been harmed by heparin, you are strongly encouraged to contact us now. There is no charge and no obligation. If we take your case, there is no fee for our services unless we win your case or settle it in your favor.

The following hospitals in California have been cited by the Dept of Public Health for having contaminated Baxter International Heparin in stock months after the recall was announced:

• University of California San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF)
• San Francisco General Hospital
• Children’s Hospital of Central California in Madera
• Loma Linda University Hospital
• Vista Specialty Hospital in San Gabriel
• Kindred Hospital of Santa Ana
• Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura
• Pacific Alliance Medical Center in Los Angeles
• Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville
• University of California at San Diego
• Glendale Adventist Medical Center
• Glendale Memorial
• Alhambra Hospital
• East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital in Los Angeles
• City of Angels Medical Center in Los Angeles
• Century City Doctors Hospital
• Centinela Hospital in Inglewood
• Methodist Hospital of Southern California of Arcadia
• Pomona Valley Hospital
• Western Medical Center in Anaheim
• Alameda Surgery Center in Burbank

UPDATE #2

The following additonal companies may have also supplied contaminated heparin:

• B. Braun Medical
• Medifil
• Tyco Healthcare