Model's Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Psychiatrist

When Phyllis Harvey died at the age of 59, the newspapers did not list her cause of death in her obituary. Though Phyllis had a known struggle with alcohol, this was never mentioned, and no one declared that she had died from an impending mental illness. Because the cause of her death was so ambiguous, her family began to think that there is a chance that the philanthropist was drugged to death by her former psychiatrist. According to their suspicions, Harvey’s psychiatrist and doctor coaxed her to give much of her money to a research project.

Yet Harvey’s generous donations weren’t all the product of a giving heart. In part, they were the result of a psychotropic drug that Harvey was under the influence of when making her decisions. The drug was issued by the psychiatrist, who then benefitted from the generous donations from Harvey’s estate. In total, Harvey gave over half a million dollars to the psychiatrist’s research. After the money had been received, Phyllis died with large doses of the drug in her system.

The suspicious situation has caused her family to file the wrongful death suit, which alleges that the psychotropic drugs altered Phyllis Harvey’s heart rhythm and eventually caused her death. According to the plaintiff’s attorney, Mrs. Harvey was hospitalized frequently for cardiac problems, and the emergency medical personnel discontinued her medications because they said that they were not good for her in her condition. Yet Harvey’s doctor reissued the psychotropic medicines when she came back in for a checkup.

The deceased’s widower believes that that doctor was using the medications to promote her own agenda and obtain money from their estate. Investigators keep researching the situation, but believe that Phyllis’ doctor wanted to keep her coming to him so that he could continue to beckon her for funding for his research. Brian Harvey, Phyllis’ surviving husband, has made millions with his invention which creates the coating for metallic wires using recycled beer cans. The couple gives most of their money to just causes, but many people have tried to take advantage of their fortune. Phyllis’ doctor told her husband that he needed donations to research a medication that could cure her undiagnosed mental illness.

Yet the husband is now wondering if the mental illness was in part brought on by her addiction to the drugs she had been issued. He has yet to see any progress on the physician’s research. He has chosen to press the issue by filing a lawsuit for wrongful death, negligence, fraud, emotional distress, and fraudulent concealment. Talk to a personal injury attorney today if you believe that someone you love was killed due to a prescription drug addiction that may have been a doctor’s fault. While money can’t bring your loved one back, you may be able to obtain money that can help you to comfort yourself as you mourn the loss of your loved one.