A specialized skin cream prescribed by a local doctor for a woman’s back and knee pain killed her 5-month-old baby after he came in contact with it, according to a Los Angeles coroner’s report.
The infant’s parents are suing the mother’s doctor, whose involvement in the case also led to his being charged with involuntary manslaughter in an indictment filed last week by the Orange County Grand Jury.
The parents of the baby, Andrew Gallegos, have filed a product liability and medical negligence lawsuit against Dr. Andrew Jarminski, physician assistant Joseph Gutierrez, Healthcare Pharmacy, Allied Medical Group and Industrial Pharmacy Management.
The lawsuit claims Gallegos’ mother, Priscilla Lujan, went to Jarminski’s Long Beach office in February 2012 for treatment of injuries she suffered while working at Goodwill Industries.
Medical records show Jarminski prescribed Lujan a compound transdermal cream comprised of the antidepressant amitriptyline, the pain reliever tramadol and the cough suppressant dextromethorphan.
Lujan’s attorney, Shawn McCann, claims she went home that night and applied the cream to her knee and back, as she was directed by Jarminski. After using the medication, she took care of her baby, including preparing a bottle for him and bouncing him on her knee and holding him over her shoulders, according to McCann.
Lujan put the baby to sleep in her bed and awoke in the morning to find him unresponsive. He died an hour later “as a result of multiple drug intoxication,” according to the autopsy report.
The report also stated that Andrew had high levels of three drugs in his system – the same drugs in the compound cream prescribed by Jarminksi. Tramadol and dextromethorphan were present at lethal levels, the coroner found.
