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Follow on Google News | New Revelations Hurt Colo U - Law Suit Filed Over ShootingSeveral new developments relating to the "Joker" shooting increase the likelihood that the University of Colorado will be held liable, or at least be forced to settle, and at least one law suit seeking damages has now been filed - as expert predicted
It now appears that shooter James Holmes was seeing not one but at least three psychiatrists at the university. While a strong case can be made that the best known of these three psychiatrists, Dr. Lynne Fenton, should have foreseen the imminent danger he presented, and therefore came under a legal duty to warn and take other action to prevent harm to others, the argument is strengthened by knowledge that at least three medical professionals - either individually or collectively - failed to recognize this threat, says Banzhaf. "The very fact that one student is seeing at least three mental health professionals on the same campus should have been a major red flag to the psychiatrists and their employer, triggering at very least additional consultation, collaboration, or other appropriate action," he argues. It has also been revealed that Holmes was regarded as at least a "High Risk" by Dr. Lynne Fenton, the university psychiatrist who warned the campus police - but not constituted law enforcement authorities or the shooter's family - about this danger, at least according to the university's Integrative "Threat Assessment Matrix." This document, reportedly prepared in large part by Dr. Fenton herself, is used by the university's Behavioral Evaluation and Threat Assessment team [BETA] to formalize procedures for dealing with students who present possible threats. The matrix details five levels of possible threats ranging from "No Risk Identified" to "Imminent Risk." It's only once a situation reaches at least the fourth level - "High Risk" - that a "law enforcement response" is indicated. That's apparently what prompted Dr. Fenton to notify a university public safety officer. But the threat matrix also provides that BETA members should "develop (an) active plan monitoring and management plan" and "possible liaison with local police to compare red flags." This apparently was never done, even though the university learned that Holmes was undergoing three major stress factors likely to increase the danger of him finally snapping: leaving his prestigious graduate position, losing his means of financial support, and being forced from his apartment. Had they acted, the tragedy might have been prevented, suggests Banzhaf. A jury, especially one likely to be very sympathetic to the victims, could well find it strange - and negligent - that the university did not act in the case of Holmes, but did in several lesser situations: "* In one example, police were called to monitor the beginning of a class when a student wrote a letter they labeled "concerning, but not an imminent threat." * In a different case, the team met after a student who threatened to stab a professor in the eye with a pencil despite the professor telling the team that he or she did not feel threatened. * In another case, a student, upset about his grades, told a professor that he would "not sit back and take it." Police were called to the photo lab, according to an email sent to the BETA team." http://www.wptv.com/ The magnitude of the threat Holmes appears to have presented seems to be far more serious than a student saying that he would "not sit back and take it" when receiving a low grade, or opining that he might stab a professor in the eye with a pencil, says Banzhaf. As Professor Banzhaf predicted, a law suit has now reportedly been filed, seeking to impose liability on the psychiatrists. As occurred regarding other university-related shootings, Colorado is likely to be under tremendous pressure to settle any law suits quietly and out of court, presumably with gag orders, to prevent further revelations and the embarrassment of a trial. For example, the university has already been embarrassed by reports that it hired Dr. Fenton even though she had been reprimanded by a Colorado medical board. JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D. Professor of Public Interest Law George Washington University Law School, FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor, Fellow, World Technology Network, Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) 2000 H Street, NW, Suite S402 Washington, DC 20052, USA (202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418 http://banzhaf.net/ End
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