Boy Dies After Treatment at Clinic by Allegedly Unlicensed Staffer

SANTA ANA —  A toddler died after treatment by an apparently unlicensed person at a clinic catering to poor Latinos, police and state medical officials said Saturday.

The parents of Christopher Martinez, 2, took him to Consultorio Medico last week because he had flu-like symptoms, officials said. After his appointment, however, he grew sicker and died Thursday.

The boy’s father, Salvador, said that he and his wife first took their son to the clinic Tuesday morning and that, despite being given five injections over three days, he continued to worsen.

Martinez said the man who was treating Christopher assured him that the reaction was normal and told him to withhold liquids for four hours after each injection.

“I thought it was strange, but I had faith in the doctor,” said Martinez.

The father said he and his wife paged the “doctor” repeatedly and each time were told to bring Christopher to the clinic for another injection. He said he did not know what was being injected.

Martinez said that he was planning to take Christopher to a hospital Thursday afternoon but that when he checked on his son, he was unconscious. Paramedics were summoned, but by then the boy had stopped breathing. He was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, where he died. The Orange County coroner’s office had not determined the cause of death Saturday.

Police said they were seeking a clinic employee who acted as a doctor and a second who served as a nurse, both of whom lacked licenses.

Times staff writers Janet Wilson and Nancy Cleeland contributed to this story.