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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Woman Claims Doc Gave Her Suicide Pills

LAS VEGAS (CN) - A depressed patient claims her doctor told her "that he could provide a way for her to end it all," prescribed her pain pills and told her to "go to a private place to be alone, eat a small meal and take the medications a few at a time until they were gone."

Barbara Strzemp sued Dr. Antonino Gumina and the Family Tree Medical Center in Clark County Court. She claims that in late March 2010 she "presented to Gumina, her primary care provider, with complaints of general fatigue, malaise and depression."

"Gumina informed plaintiff that he could provide a way for her to end it all."

Strzemp says Gumina wrote her prescriptions for 60 Reglan tablets (10 mg), 100 methadone tablets (10 mg) and 60 Phenergan tablets (25 mg) "as a means for plaintiff to commit suicide." Then he "instructed the plaintiff to have the prescriptions filled, go to a private place to be alone, eat a small meal and take the medications a few at a time until they were gone."

Strzemp says she "never requested assistance from Gumina to commit suicide," and that Gumina "knew or should have known that if ingested, the combination of prescription medications would result in (Strzemp's) death."

Strzemp seeks damages for medical malpractice, emotional distress and negligence.

She is represented by Craig Murphy with Murphy & Murphy.

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