Girlfriend: Shooter was taking cocktail of 3 drugs

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

I think there are people who 'need' someone to blame. The girlfriend just isn't going to work out guys. She didn't do anything that could concievably render her liable. There is simply no causality between her suggestion that he stop taking one drug and his going on a killing spree. Nice try though.

that's nice, but you're not a lawyer either are you?

do yourself a favor and look up a civil case. you might be surprised how easy it is to win one of those.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Some food for thought.

US Tort Law

Negligence

Amongst unintentional torts one finds negligence as being the most common source of common law, most Americans are under the impression that most people can sue for any type of negligence, but it is untrue in most American courts (partly because negligence is one of the few torts for which ordinary people can and do obtain liability insurance.) It is a form of extracontractual liability that is based upon a failure to comply with the duty of care of a reasonable person, which failure is the actual cause and proximate cause of damages. That is, but for the tortfeasor's act or omission, the damages to the plaintiff would not have been incurred, and the damages were a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the tortious conduct.

[Peikko 1,575]

In other words, a killing spree isn't a reasonably foreseeable consequence. However, again, please don't let logic rain on the parade of the guys who want to spread a little blame.

[SteveLaura 0]

I dunno, have you seen the adverts for some of these drugs? "Drug X isn't for everyone. Side effects may include nausea, headaches, nose bleeds, constipation, gunning down innocent strangers, dizziness when standing and dry mouth."

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I dunno, have you seen the adverts for some of these drugs? "Drug X isn't for everyone. Side effects may include nausea, headaches, nose bleeds, constipation, gunning down innocent strangers, dizziness when standing and dry mouth."

You'd imagine that a substance that causes homicidal behaviour on the comedown would probably be illegal. Perhaps someone should sue the drug company

I don't buy it. From the sounds of the conscious effort that went into planning and premedidating - there was something else going on with the guy that prompted him to do this...

[SteveLaura 0]

Someone will try to stick someone else with the blame - the girlfriend, the psychiatrist, the drug company, the father... All should, and probably would, fail.

I've seen one of the victim's mother on TV a few times. She seems like she may try to start another gun control campaign around this tragedy. God forbid, tho, that we blame access to guns for these events. Hey, what's the girlfriend's address? Let's send round a summons...

[Caladan 19]

I'm not a lawyer, but I'd be surprised if a suit got anywhere. Quite a lot of suits that the average person finds weird get through, but this doesn't look like one of them. (It's not all that easy to win a civil suit.) Under what do they sue her? Looks like the closest thing would be negligence.

They'd have to show that going off of his meds caused the shooting (a nice guess, but people stop taking anti-depressants all the time without shooting people), and they'd have to show that whatever she said caused him to stop taking it, and that whatever she said was unreasonable to say. I'm not sure 'if it's making you feel bad, maybe you should stop taking it' counts as being irresponsible. Because people go against medical advice because of side effects all the time, with no ill results, you'd have to show that she violated a well-established duty of care in saying what she said.

And even if you did that, you'd have to show that a reasonable person should have known that her advice would lead to a pre-meditated mass murder. Going on a killing spree isn't a reasonably foreseeable consequence of stopping anti-depressants, and we're not even seeing any evidence that she forced him to stop taking them or withheld his meds or was responsible for his medication (she's not a legal guardian or a caretaker). There's more leeway in civil suits, but there's also no money or policy change to be gotten out of one girlfriend. Why would you sue a girlfriend, if you think the lack of medication is the culprit, when you could sue a drug company or the doctor? You'd have a better case against those, and you'd have the moral high ground, too. 'We're not doing this for the money, but so that the regulations can be changed so no one has to die like my little Timmy.'

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'm not a lawyer, but I'd be surprised if a suit got anywhere. Quite a lot of suits that the average person finds weird get through, but this doesn't look like one of them. (It's not all that easy to win a civil suit.) Under what do they sue her? Looks like the closest thing would be negligence.

They'd have to show that going off of his meds caused the shooting (a nice guess, but people stop taking anti-depressants all the time without shooting people), and they'd have to show that whatever she said caused him to stop taking it, and that whatever she said was unreasonable to say. I'm not sure 'if it's making you feel bad, maybe you should stop taking it' counts as being irresponsible. Because people go against medical advice because of side effects all the time, with no ill results, you'd have to show that she violated a well-established duty of care in saying what she said.

And even if you did that, you'd have to show that a reasonable person should have known that her advice would lead to a pre-meditated mass murder. Going on a killing spree isn't a reasonably foreseeable consequence of stopping anti-depressants, and we're not even seeing any evidence that she forced him to stop taking them or withheld his meds or was responsible for his medication (she's not a legal guardian or a caretaker). There's more leeway in civil suits, but there's also no money or policy change to be gotten out of one girlfriend. Why would you sue a girlfriend, if you think the lack of medication is the culprit, when you could sue a drug company or the doctor? You'd have a better case against those, and you'd have the moral high ground, too. 'We're not doing this for the money, but so that the regulations can be changed so no one has to die like my little Timmy.'

Suicide or attempted suicide might be more likely - if the guy had some sort of prior history that way. But even so, depressed people do that both on and off of meds - hard to point to a single cause and say "thats the reason".

[almaty 19]

the 3 meds mention are a common prescription for anxiety ..ant-dep and sleep disorder......the gf is a chopf##k publicity seeking harlot

[rebeccajo 14]

He stopped taking his prescription because his girlfriend told him to?

the sequence in the story indicates she tried to get him to stop taking one of them, then he stopped taking all of them 3 weeks prior to the rampage. how many lawyers can make hay outta that?

Not likely, unless the g/f has deep pockets.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Three things to consider, regarding the medications themselves:

1. Don't go off your medication unless specifically told do to so by a physician. It doesn't have to be the originally prescribing physician (and yes, psychiatrists are medical doctors), since they have the medical knowledge to properly weigh the consequences of the patient's well being, when on or off the medication in question.

2. Just because one type of medication isn't working properly or serving up undesirable side-effects, that doesn't mean all efforts to treat the problem should be halted. There are many different types of medications available and given the variety, one or two should work with enough experimentation. It may take time and effort, but it's generally worth it. Everyone is different -- a drug that works for one person may not work for another and vice-versa.

3. Never ever stop medication halfway through. Certain medications, such as psychotropics, anti-epileptics and and antibiotics can have severe negative consequences if the patient neglects to either follow through with the full course of medication or taper themselves off the medication slowly. In some cases, such as with antibiotics, the medication will cease to function correctly, and with others like anti-epileptics and some psychotropics, abruptly halting without lowering the dosage could cause issues such as stroke or even death. So it is in the patient's best interest to consult with their physician before going off their medication, instead of doing it themselves or following the advice of their significant other (unless, of course, either one of them is a physician).

Edited February 21, 2008 by DeadPoolX

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

the 3 meds mention are a common prescription for anxiety ..ant-dep and sleep disorder......the gf is a chopf##k publicity seeking harlot

I can't agree more. I wonder how much CNN is paying her for each appearance.

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

He stopped taking his prescription because his girlfriend told him to?

the sequence in the story indicates she tried to get him to stop taking one of them, then he stopped taking all of them 3 weeks prior to the rampage. how many lawyers can make hay outta that?

Not likely, unless the g/f has deep pockets.

or her parents.......

[Peikko 1,575]

Why are you so obsessed with this? Now you think the g/f's parents should fork out cash to the victims? This is stretching a tenuous link to its most pointless conclusion.

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

Why are you so obsessed with this? Now you think the g/f's parents should fork out cash to the victims? This is stretching a tenuous link to its most pointless conclusion.

why are you so obsessed with my answers? get some medication girl!