Actor Dennis Quaid told Congress today of a harrowing, near-fatal drug mixup in which his newborn twins were administered 1,000 times the normal dose of a blood thinner

Actor Dennis Quaid told Congress Wednesday that the near-fatal overdose of Heparin given to his newborn twins last November underscores the need to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable through lawsuits, a remedy that is becoming increasingly problematic for injured consumers. At issue before the House Reform and Government Oversight Committee is a move by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to step in and defend the pharmaceutical companies against such lawsuits.

Quaid's twins were hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles last year for treatment for a staph infection. While under the hospital's care, they were given a 1000x overdose of the blood thinner Heparin. It wasn't the first time such a mistake had been made. In 2006, six newborns at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis were given an overdose of the same blood-thinning drug and three died.

Quaids twins, Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone, recovered from the overdose -- they were given 10,000 units of Heparin, rather than the 10 units they were supposed to get. A neonatologist noted that all premature babies get Heparin in their IV catheters to prevent clotting. "Heparin is used because the IV lines are so tiny," she said. "It's necessary for the babies to survive." An overdose of drug can be devastating causing babies to bleed out from multiple areas in the body. The mistake may have occurred because hospital pharmacies often stock adult and infant doses of medications, including Heparin. "The error could occur at any stage. Some places have a pharmacy that prepares the IV fluids. Other places, the nurses do it. So it just depends on who prepares the IV fluids."