----- Original Message -----
From: <mindfreedom-news@...>
To: "NEWS@... :Human Rights in Mental Health"
<MindFreedom-News@...>
Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2005 2:12 PM
Subject: NEWS: Psych. drug = $1.6 million jury verdict


> MindFreedom News - Sunday, 16 October 2005
> http://wwww.MindFreedom.org - please forward
>
> USA JURY YESTERDAY SLAMS PSYCHIATRIC
> DRUGGING WITH $1.6 MILLION VERDICT
>
> Yesterday a USA jury delivered a major
> victory to a woman harmed by a psychiatric
> drug-induced condition known as
> tardive dyskinesia (TD).
>
> The family of psychiatric drugs called
> neuroleptics -- sometimes known as
> anti-psychotics -- can cause TD which
> is a kind of brain damage that can
> involve persistent and often permanent
> disfiguring involuntary muscle movements.
>
> The BELOW news is forwarded from
> psychiatrist Peter Breggin, MD via
> the International Center for Study
> of Psychiatry & Psychology (ICSPP)
> a sponsor group of MindFreedom
> International.
>
> Feel free to forward:
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> 2005 Tardive Dyskinesia Victory
>
> On October 15, 2005 a Virginia jury
> delivered a $1.6 million verdict in a
> tardive dyskinesia case, Sylvia Jones v.
> Jeffrey Alan Margolis. The amount was
> especially large considering the small
> town setting of Tappahannock in
> southeastern Virginia. Also, the
> defendant was a well-known internist in
> the community.
>
> In 1982 when she was twenty-one
> years old, her original internist placed
> Sylvia Jones on Triavil, a combination of
> the neuroleptic perphenazine (Trilafon)
> and the antidepressant amitriptyline
> (Elavil). At that time she had
> situational stresses that were causing
> anxiety. Although her most of her
> symptoms of anxiety cleared up during the
> earlier years, her original internist
> maintained her on the drug until 1997.
> Perphenazine is indicated for the
> treatment of psychosis but at no time has
> Mrs. Jones displayed any symptoms of
> psychosis.
>
> In 1997 internist Alan Margolis, M.D.
> took over Mrs. Jones treatment and
> increased the dose of Triavil. Although
> she no longer suffered from any serious
> symptoms of anxiety, Dr. Margolis
> maintained her on this drug until
> February 2003 when she developed a
> severe, painful and crippling torticollis
> (spasm of her neck). Subsequent physicians
> diagnosed her as suffering from
> neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia, a
> disorder that can afflict any voluntary
> muscle, including the face, neck, torso,
> and extremities, as well as speech,
> breathing and swallowing.
>
> Since 1997 Mrs. Jones has been completely
> disabled by a variety of motor
> abnormalities associated with tardive
> dyskinesia. In addition to the spasms of
> her neck, her shoulders twist severely
> and she has facial and abdominal spasms.
> Her vocal cords are impaired, producing
> an abnormal tone of voice. She is
> weakened and cannot carry out tasks
> requiring coordination or strength. She
> suffers from chronic pain. Humiliation
> over her appearance has caused her to be
> socially isolated.
>
> At no time during her treatment did
> Dr. Margolis adequately justify the use
> of a neuroleptic. He failed to monitor
> the patient, at one point prescribing for
> her over a period of more than two years
> without seeing her. He performed no
> examinations for TD, and he gave no
> warnings or education concerning the
> risks and symptoms of TD.
>
> In defense of Dr. Margolis, a
> Florida psychiatrist argued that the TD
> wasn't caused by the twenty years of
> neuroleptic exposure but by the very last
> dose that the patient supposedly took
> after her last visit with Dr. Margolis. A
> well-known Washington, DC internist argued
> that Dr. Margolis didn't have to give the
> patient any warnings or education
> concerning TD since he was certain this
> information had been given by her
> original doctor twenty years earlier,
> even though that deceased doctor's
> records no longer existed.
>
> Peter R. Breggin, M.D. conducted the
> initial evaluation of the case and
> provided consultation in planning the
> case and then in the courtroom during the
> trial. Originally scheduled as a rebuttal
> witness to the defense experts, Dr.
> Breggin did not need to testify because
> the defense was so weak that no rebuttal
> was required. Two treating physicians
> testified on behalf of Mrs. Jones.
>
> The plaintiff's attorney Paul Curley is
> located in Richmond, Virginia (804 673
> 6600). He worked closely with Dr. Breggin
> and developed a thorough knowledge of
> tardive dyskinesia.
>
> - end of news alert -
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Please feel free to forward.
>
> Forwarded as a free public service
> by MindFreedom International
> http://wwww.MindFreedom.org.
>
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