May 14, 2008 on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Actor Dennis Quaid told lawmakers Wednesday how his newborn twins came close to death after an overdose of blood-thinning medication, the fault of a drug company that did not recall easily confused bottles despite previous problems, he said.

The incident occurred last year at a Los Angeles, California, hospital, Quaid told members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The actor also said the "infants nearly died because of a drug company's failure to put safety first."

The panel's hearing focused on the issue of "pre-emption," under which FDA approval guarantees immunity for drug companies against state lawsuits, because federal law supersedes state law.

The Supreme Court is mulling the issue in a Vermont case. Oral arguments are expected in early October.

"I am in the entertainment industry, but what happened to us, and what is happening in the courts of our country, is no fiction," Quaid said in a statement prepared for members of the House panel. "It is all too real. That is why I have decided to speak out and do something."

Watch Quaid testify that "Baxter's negligence was an accident waiting to happen" - go to blog