Suit Blames Infant’s Death on Cold Medicine

A suburban Chicago law firm says it has filed a lawsuit on behalf of an infant who died after taking cough and cold medication.

The suit claims 6-month-old Ashanti Webber died of intoxication caused by pseudoephedrine and dextromethorphan, ingredients that have not been tested in infants, according to a press release.

The law firm, Mathys & Schneid, claims drugmakers were negligent in marketing and selling infant cold medications that were not approved for infants by the Food and Drug Administration.

"These pharmaceutical companies have been preying on parents of sick children for decades,” partner Mark Mathys said in a press release. “They knew all along these medications were not shown to be effective for infants, yet they marketed and sold these medications claiming they could help a child's symptoms, even as they knew these drugs could injure or even kill the infant."

The suit follows another Illinois lawsuit filed in November that claimed a 4-month-old child died after taking over-the-counter cold medicine. The medication also contained dextromethorphan, the Associated Press reports.