Heparin Medication Error

Contaminated Baxter Heparin Products
Our law firm is investigating several cases involving heparin. 19 people may have died and over 700 other people may have been seriously injured by Baxter's heparin products. Prompted by adverse reactions suffered by patients given Baxter heparin products, the company initiated a recall. Baxter's heparin recall initially involved 14 lots of heparin products. The heparin recall was expanded on February 28 to include all of Baxter Healthcare's multi-dose and single-use vials of heparin sodium for injection, and their heparin lock flush solutions. read about the Baxter heparin recall and a Baxter heparin lawsuit.

The information below involves heparin medication errors. Lawsuits for medication errors involve both medical malpractice and product liability claims. There have also been a number of recalls of heparin products due to contamination, which is different than a medication error. If you have been injured in any way by a heparin product or if a loved one has died after being administered heparin, please read about the Baxter heparin recall and a possible Baxter heparin lawsuit (discussed in the box above).

Heparin Medication Errors

Medication errors can involve products that look similar to each other. In the case of Heparin, two Heparin products with similar blue labeling are being mistaken for each other. One product delivers 10,000 units/mL of Heparin and the other product delivers only 10 units/mL. In three instances, infants died after being given the 10,000 units/mL product instead of the 10 units/mL product. The FDA and Baxter, the manufacturer of Heparin, have notified healthcare professionals of this potential life-threatening medication error.

* The FDA has also warned healthcare professionals and patients of a recall of AM2 PAT Heparin flush syringes due to possible contamination with Serratia marcescens. Read about the Heparin - AM2 PAT recall and the expanded Heparin recall, saline flush recall. *

FDA Notice: Heparin Sodium Injection 10,000 units/mL, and HEP-LOCK U/P 10 units/mL Medication Errors

February 7, 2007 - Baxter and FDA notified healthcare professionals of the potential for life threatening medication errors involving two Heparin products, Heparin Sodium Injection 10,000 units/mL, and HEP-LOCK U/P 10 units/mL. Baxter is aware of fatal medication errors that have occurred when two Heparin products with shades of blue labeling were mistaken for each other. Three infant deaths resulted when the higher dosage Heparin Sodium Injection 10,000 units/mL was inadvertently administered instead of the lower dosage of HEP-LOCK U/P 10 units/mL. The currently marketed 1 mL vials of both Heparin products use blue as the prominent background color on their labels.

Image of Serratia marcescens courtesy of Lee Baines Photography.

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