Understanding risk factors for suicide is essential to preventing death by suicide. Updated research suggests that one potential risk factor frequently overlooked is a tendency toward perfectionism. Individuals, families of perfectionists and mental health professionals need to be aware that an overwhelming drive to be the best at everything can be a potential mental health issue that increases the risk of death by suicide. A suicide attorney should be consulted if mental health experts miss the signs and a person attempts to die by suicide.

Perfectionism is a Risk Factor for Death by Suicide

Perfectionism is generally defined as a need to either be perfect or to appear perfect. Unfortunately, as a new article in the Science of Us indicates, “the average person has very little understanding or awareness of how destructive perfectionism can be.”

Perfectionists frequently feel as though they are impostors putting on a mask of having it altogether. When this facade collapses, it can be devastating. For example, in a 2007 study, researchers interviewed friends and family members of people who had recently died by suicide. With no prompting, more than half of the people who had lost their lives were described by their family members as “perfectionists.”

A British study had similar results. Researchers looked at 20 students who had died by suicide. A total of 11 out of the 20 were described by people who knew them as being afraid to fail.

Yet another study of 33 boys and young men who had taken their lives were also described by their parents as having placed “exceedingly high” demands and expectations on themselves.

Unfortunately, there are high rates of death by suicide among people who are perfectionists because many people set impossibly high standards for themselves that they cannot possibly meet. They may then feel let down or disappointed when they are unable to meet the expectations that they have set.

The link between suicide and perfectionism have been largely misunderstood and overlooked, in large part because perfectionists don’t want people to know they are suffering. A person who is a perfectionist will try to paint a facade of keeping everything together, and admitting to thoughts of suicide will not typically fit in with the image that they are trying to present. Family members and loved ones may not even be aware of the fact that the perfectionist is experiencing any type of depression, as “perfectionism might not only be driving suicidal impulses, it could also be simultaneously masking them.”

Perfectionists are advised to aim the trait outside of themselves whenever possible to avoid some of the downsides of perfectionism. Volunteering and doing things for others could help to alleviate some of the pressures that are associated with perfectionism. For parents whose kids are perfectionists, sharing stories of setbacks and failures could also help to make a big difference.

Recognizing the potential for suicide associated with perfectionism is an important first step in being able to recognize signs of a problem and prevent a death from occurring.

A suicide attorney at the Law Offices of Skip Simpson can help. Call (214) 618-8222 or visit http://www.skipsimpson.com to schedule a free case consultation.

Eighteen percent of undergraduate students in the United States have suicidal thoughts and about one student in 10 makes plans to die by suicide. Every day, there are nearly three on-campus deaths of college students due to suicide. Recently, Philly.com looked at the problem of suicides on campus and asked an important question: “isn’t this an epidemic?”

A suicide attorney knows that college is a transitional time and a period of tremendous emotional stress and vulnerability. Young people are struggling to define themselves away from their families for the first time. They are faced with peer pressure as well as blossoming academic challenges, all of which can become very overwhelming.

Preventing Death by Suicide on College Campuses

College students, parents, friends and family members need to understand when someone is at risk of death by suicide. For the vast majority of people, thoughts of suicide are a “transient” emotional state, so it can be difficult to identify when college students may cross the line from thoughts into taking action.

College campuses try to provide help to prevent death by suicide. Roof access has been reduced and balconies have been blocked off on many campuses in response to student suicides. Special training and screening or evaluation tools are provided on some campuses, and colleges have made counseling available on campus. However, there may be much more that should be done to prevent death by suicide. Suggestions for a campaign to reduce deaths include:

• More education. Suicide should be talked about more frequently, and students should be taught that the brain can be modified to control urges. The difference between automatic conditioned living and purposeful choosing should be explored, and students should be educated more on the boundaries marking the beginning of illness. There should also be more open discussion about available treatments for depression or thoughts of suicide.
• More screening. College students are a highly-vulnerable group at risk for suicide. A broad screening program may be more effective on a college campus than it would be among the general population. The screening program would not only help to identify students who are at risk but would also help to maintain awareness both about the risk of death by suicide as well as about the significance of suicidal ideation.
• Better suicide prevention networks. Suicide prevention efforts should focus on the communication tools that college students use most frequently. For example, students may be more likely to visit a supportive community center web site that acts as a suicide prevention network than they would be to call a suicide hotline. Students should have access to suicide counselors on the social networks that they use most, as they may not visit student health services

By providing better access to suicide prevention services using the communication tools that students need, hopefully the problem of suicide on college campuses could be reduced. Mental health counselors available to students on college campuses also need to be aware of the unique risks that vulnerable student populations face and should be especially vigilant to watch for signs of suicidal thoughts.

A Dallas, TX suicide attorney at the Law Offices of Skip Simpson can help. Call (214) 618-8222 or visit http://www.skipsimpson.com to schedule a free case consultation.

The Great Recession that started in 2007 caused many people to lose their homes and their livelihood. Some individuals and families, however, experienced a loss that was far beyond any financial devastation. According to a recent article on CBS News, the Great Recession may have been the cause of more than 10,000 deaths by suicide.

Economic stress can significantly increase the chances of someone having suicidal thoughts, and a job loss or a foreclosure can lead to someone attempting suicide. Families and community members need to be especially supportive of those going through financial hardship and mental health professionals must be vigilant in watching for signs that a patient they are treating may be considering death by suicide after a financial setback.

If medical professionals fail to recognize and act on signs of suicide, surviving family members may be able to take legal action to obtain compensation for losses. A suicide attorney at the Law Offices of Skip Simpson can represent those who lose a loved one as a result of death by suicide.

Economic Distress and Death by Suicide

Researchers from the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Topical Medicine examined information on deaths by suicide from 24 different countries in the European Union as well as in Canada and the United States.

Researchers found a substantial increase in rates of suicide between 2008 and 2010. The increase in deaths by suicide was four times greater among men than among women.

In the European Union, suicides increased 6.5 percent from the time the economic crisis started in 2007 until the end of 2009. In Canada, there was a 4.5 percent increase in deaths by suicide between 2007 and 2010. In the United States, there was a 4.8 percent increase in deaths by suicide. These numbers were “conservative” estimates, and it is likely that there were more deaths that were not counted.

During this same time period, there was also a significant increase in the rate of prescription antidepressant use. For example, in the United Kingdom, there was an 11 percent increase in antidepressant use between 2003 and 2007 but by 2010, there was a 19 percent increase in the number of people taking such medications.

The fact that the differences in suicide rates occurred in all of the countries affected by the great recession gave researchers considerable confidence in concluding that it was economic factors that specifically caused the increase in the number of people who died by suicide.

Unfortunately, key risk factors for suicides during a recession include home repossession, a significant increase in debt, and the loss of a job.

Interventions such as return-to-work programs and employment assistance may help to reduce the risk of suicide. In fact for each $100 per person spent on programs to help the unemployed, there is a .4 percent increase in the risk of death by suicide.

Ultimately, however, mental health professionals may have the biggest impact on reducing the chances of a death by suicide in each particular case since behavioral therapy and the use of antidepressant medications can help a person to weather even serious economic hardship.

A suicide attorney at the Law Offices of Skip Simpson can help. Call (214) 618-8222 or visit http://www.skipsimpson.com to schedule a free case consultation.

An emotional reunion occurred recently when a U.K. man was able to track down the stranger who helped him at a dark time in his life. The U.K. man had been having suicidal thoughts and was about to jump off of the Waterloo Bridge in London.  He had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and was concerned that recovery would be difficult.  When standing on the end of the bridge, however, he heard a man’s voice behind him.  The man asked him to go for coffee and talk.

The simple invitation made all the difference, and the U.K. man now describes his life as wonderful six years later. He began a campaign to find the man who saved his life, and the two met up recently.  The wonderful story shows that sometimes it takes just one person to reach out and prevent a death by suicide. Unfortunately, people experiencing suicidal thoughts hide them from those closest to them and never get the help they need. Recognizing signs of suicidal thoughts can be difficult for family members and friends, although mental health professionals should be trained to identify red flags; most aren’t.

Two-Thirds of those in America who contemplate suicide are not under the care of a mental health clinician.  The goal is to get all folks needing mental health into competent care.  Competent care is the challenge.  Graduate and some medical schools are not properly training their students on managing and accessing patients at risk for suicide.  Licensing agencies are not properly testing new clinicians on treating suicidal patients.  Consequently unless the clinician learns by self-study how to manage their patients or the employers of the clinicians insure proper training has occurred, the at risk patient will not receive the care he or she needs.

Those who lose loved ones due to death by suicide may be able to take action against mental health counselors who failed to provide the necessary help or to take action to stop a death by suicide.  Contact a suicide attorney at the Law Offices of Skip Simpson to speak with a lawyer who can help.

Reaching out to Prevent Death by Suicide

As the Huffington Post reports,  the man standing on the edge of the Waterloo Bridge in London had been unable to tell his friends or his family members about his intentions. He describes being afraid of his suicidal thoughts and feelings and being unable to vocalize them to anyone.

When the total stranger came up behind him on the bridge, however, the kindness made an impact.  Instead of jumping, the man turned around to see his face and hear the simple message that things could get better.

The good Samaritan listened to his explanation of how he was feeling, and eventually this was enough to get him to step back off the ledge and agree to go for coffee. Police took him into custody once off the bridge, put him into an ambulance headed for Saint Thomas Hospital.  He never got to say goodbye to the good Samaritan or to thank him, until he found him on the Internet and they were able to reunite.

The happy ending in this story will hopefully help to inspire others to get involved and offer help even to strangers who are struggling. Perhaps the story could also make a difference in the lives of someone with suicidal thoughts.  Like the man in this story, many people with suicidal thoughts cannot or will not tell their closest family members. The important thing is that someone, even a stranger, notices and listens.

How can family members learn what suicidal risk factors to look for in their loved ones?   The book “The Suicide Lawyers: Exposing Lethal Secrets” by CC Risenhoover is the perfect choice. Risenhoover interviews Skip Simpson who outlines his experiences in years of teaching and litigating about suicidal patients.

A suicide attorney at the Law Offices of Skip Simpson can take action against mental health providers. Call (214) 618-8222 or visit www.skipsimpson.com to schedule a consultation.

Military veterans are at great risk for suicide after leaving the service. USA Today recently reported on disturbing data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which shows that young veterans are dying by suicide at a rate of more than double the number of civilians who lose their lives this way.

While this news is not good and VA officials indicate that the “data show[s] that severe personal issues driving self-destructive tendencies for those in uniform follow them when they leave the military,” the data also shows that social media outreach and mental health treatment can help to reduce this high rate of deaths by suicide. An experienced suicide attorney knows that competent mental health professionals play an important role in recognizing signs of suicide and in preventing these deaths by providing appropriate care and, if necessary, arranging supervision of those who are at risk.

Skip Simpson, a 20 year veteran, says it is extremely important for service personnel and veterans to know the country is solidly behind them in making sure they are receiving competent and timely mental health care.

High Rates of Suicide are Disturbing

According to the VA data, young veterans out of service are dying by suicide at nearly three-times the rate of troops on active duty. Individuals in the Army are at greater risk than troops in other service branches, and have been both during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as when returning to civilian life.

The data shows an alarming discrepancy when comparing military veterans with civilians.

• For example, veterans ages 18-24 who are enrolled in health programs with the VA died by suicide at a rate of 46 per 100,000 in 2009 and at a rate of almost 80 per 100,000 in 2011.
• When this age group is broadened to include individuals aged 18 to 29, the rate of vets who died by suicide increased from 88 deaths in 2009 to 152 deaths in 2011.
• Non-veterans ages 18-24 died by suicide at a rate of just 20 per 100,000 in 2009 and 2010 as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• In 2009, a total of 36 young veterans who were receiving some type of health assistance from the VA died by suicide in 2009.  In 2011, 65 died by suicide.
• The overall suicide rate for active-duty army personnel was around 22 per 100,000 from 2009 to 2011.
• Soldier suicides reached the highest number in 2012, with 185 deaths by suicide.  This was a record of 30 deaths per 100,000, which is the highest it has ever been for the Army.

A preliminary review of information about those who died by suicide suggests that most of the people who lost their lives were not receiving mental health assistance although they had been treated for other medical problems by the Veterans Administration. However, the data also indicates that there has been a dramatic increase in calls to the suicide prevention office, which received several hundred calls in 2009 but received almost 55,000 in 2013. This seems to show that more people are beginning to reach out for the help they need.

If proper mental health services are provided to those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts, hopefully the number of veterans who die by suicide could be significantly reduced.

Contact the Law Offices of Skip Simpson in Dallas, dedicated to holding mental health counselors accountable. Call  214-618-8222.

Death by suicide is one of the leading causes of fatalities among people of all ages, but young people are an especially high-risk group. Unfortunately, suicide hotlines designed to prevent death by suicide by helping those with suicidal thoughts may not be reaching young people or providing adequate support to teens because these hotlines are based on phone technologies that could be considered antiquated.

Recognizing hotlines may not be working well for younger individuals, some suicide prevention and outreach groups have added “texting” hotlines. ABC Action News reports that the latest of such programs is starting in San Francisco, and that the father of a victim who died by suicide is leading the charge to increase the availability of counseling via text. The father is driven by the belief that such a program might have saved the life of his 17-year-old son, who tried to reach out to his therapist via text in the middle of the night. The therapist didn’t get the text until the teen had died by suicide.

While mental health professionals must be alert to the signs of suicide and a suicide lawyer in Dallas can assist individuals in taking action against a therapist that failed to live up to its obligations, therapists cannot always be available via phone or text 24-7. Hotlines help, and should reach many people as possible.

Texting Hotlines Could Help to Save Lives

Suicide hotlines provide an important outlet for individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts and who either do not have or cannot get in touch with their own therapist. For teens, however, texting generally surpasses all other modes of communication, with teenagers turning to texting even for serious issues like breaking up relationships.

Teens accustomed to electronic communication are more likely to reach out via text when experiencing suicidal thoughts, which helps to explain why all students who were part of a San Francisco suicide prevention focus group expressed support for adding a text-based service to existing types of suicide prevention help available. A quarter of the teens in the focus group also said they’d prefer to reach out via text, rather than phone, if they were experiencing a crisis. Another 25 percent said their preferred communication method would be chat, while just 25 percent said they’d use a traditional phone hotline.

The texting option available to teens in San Francisco is called MyLife and gives teens a number they can use to send a text message and connect with a trained counselor. When the counselor receives a text, the counselor can alert emergency services if needed and can provide emotional support via text message.

This new texting program is not the first of its kind either. Nevada and Minnesota have also added text-based suicide prevention hotlines and Minnestoa’s TXT4LIFE hotline handled over 3,800 text sessions last year, providing assistance for 1,985 young people who needed help.

Hopefully, as texting systems grow in size and scope and spread throughout the United States, they will work as an effective tool in the fight to reduce death by suicide.

Psychiatric outpatient clinics which serve teens should seriously consider adding this service for their young patients…a great agenda item for suicide prevention.

If you lost a loved one to suicide, contact a suicide attorney in Dallas at the Law Offices of Skip Simpson, dedicated to holding mental health counselors accountable. Call  214-618-8222.

According to Here and Now, September 10 was World Suicide Prevention Day. The goal of this day is to make people more aware of the warning signs of suicide and also to alert people help is available. World Suicide Prevention Day serves an important aim, as the number of people who die by suicide has reached record highs in the United States.

One reason why some individuals in the United States die by suicide is because they are vulnerable and a precipitant, like bullying, sparks suicidal behavior. Bullying Statistics.org reveals  there is a strong link between bullying and suicide and that girls ages 10-14 are at especially high risk of dying by suicide because they are being bullied. Just a few short days after World Suicide Prevention Day, one such tragic death due to bullying occurred in Florida. When a person dies by suicide and someone else’s actions may have played a role in causing that death, a suicide attorney in Dallas should be consulted for help and advice.

Ordinarily a high percentage of all suicide attempts are made by teens (and other age groups) who have a psychiatric condition like major depression, anxiety, substance dependence or some similar diagnosis. These psychiatric conditions along with a teen’s perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness add to the suicide risk vulnerability.  Perceived burdensomeness combines self-hatred and the sense one’s existence is a liability to others, and thwarted belongingness is the lack of caring relationships and frequent interpersonal interactions.  Legal advice from a lawyer competent and experienced in the field of suicide is a must.

Suicide and Bullying

The goal of World Suicide Prevention Day is to help families and loved-ones of those with suicidal thoughts to recognize the warning signs and to hopefully take action to prevent a death by suicide. Recognizing that someone is having suicidal thoughts is important, as is recognizing the risk factors, which include bullying.

The link between suicide and bullying has been well-established. According to Bullying Statistics:

• A Yale University study revealed that a victim of bullying is between two and nine times as likely to have suicidal thoughts than someone not being bullied.
• A British study revealed that at least half of all deaths by suicides among young people are related to bullying.
• ABC News statistics revealed that almost 30 percent of students are victimized by bullying or are bullying themselves.
• ABC News data also revealed that as many as 160,000 kids stay home from school daily because they are afraid of being bullied.

The bullying problem has been made much worse in a digital age because kids cannot necessarily escape their tormentors simply by staying home. The Washington Post reported on the tragic story of a 12-year-old Florida girl who died by suicide days after World Suicide Prevention Day.

The young girl was terrorized on social media, and over 15 girls repeatedly sent the victim messages asking why she was still alive and urging her to kill herself.  The 12-year-old died by suicide, jumping off of an old cement building to her death.

The Washington Post indicates police are considering filing criminal charges for cyber stalking in relation to the incident. The tragedy is an important reminder that bullying can have a real effect on a person. The victim who died by suicide in this case had searched for information about suicide online prior to her death and photographs were revealed of the girl with razor blades on her arms and her head resting on railroad tracks.

Besides the potential criminal charges, if there was negligence by school professionals or mental health counselors in getting this young victim the help she needed, surviving family members could also file a civil lawsuit for compensation. Litigation decisions must be carefully made.  School counselors and mental health counselors must be properly trained and competent to detect a teen at risk for suicide. It is their job.

If you lost a loved one to suicide, contact a suicide attorney in Dallas at the Law Offices of Skip Simpson, dedicated to holding mental health counselors accountable. Call  214-618-8222.

This May, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was published. According to the Huffington Post, the DSM-5 has taken a new approach to the topic of suicide.

Our Dallas suicide attorneys know that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of suicides in recent years, making suicide an issue of serious public importance in the United States. The changes to the DSM-5 are intended to reduce this troubling trend by focusing more on suicidal behaviors and ideation as a “cross-cutting” issue of mental disorders. The new DSM-5 also introduces some new methods of both interpreting and reacting to suicidal behaviors and ideation.

DSM-5 Takes New Approach to Suicides

The new DSM-5 has changed many different aspects of how suicides are treated. For example:

• Chapters throughout the DSM-5 now identify specific factors that can make a person more likely to attempt to die by suicide.
• The risk of suicide is recognized in many different diagnoses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and anorexia. This change was made as a result of research that shows that personality or depressive disorders are not the only mental-health issues that can increase the risk of a person dying by suicide.
• A new Section III has been added to the manual providing assessment tools designed to help clinicians evaluate the mental health and suicide risk of patients both more comprehensively and more consistently. There are now 13 different psychological domains that a person should be assessed in, including suicide. This diagnostic guide helps clinicians to distinguish various forms of non-life-threatening self harm, such as cutting, from potential attempts to die by suicide.
• A new condition called suicidal behavior disorder has been added to the DSM-5 as one that deserves further study. Suicidal behavior disorder is defined as having made a suicide attempt within the prior 24-months.
• The DSM-5 defines a clear distinction between non-suicidal self-injury and self injury that occurs with the intent to die by suicide.

These changes occur at a time when 750,000 people attempt suicide each year and when 36,000 people succeed in dying by suicide. Suicide has now surpassed car accidents as the top cause of death and the suicide-death rate is more than twice the rate of people who die by homicide.

The hope is that the changes to the DSM-5 can make clinicians better able to correctly diagnose suicidal tendencies in patients suffering from a host of mental problems.

Clinicians who provide mental health treatment to patients should study the new DSM-5 carefully to ensure that they are providing the best possible care to patients and are best-equipped to help prevent death by suicide. If a clinician falls short in his obligation to provide reasonable care and a patient dies by suicide, the clinician could potentially be held legally responsible for the death in a civil lawsuit.

If you lost a loved  one to suicide, contact the Dallas Law Offices of Skip Simpson, dedicated to holding mental health counselors accountable. Call  214-618-8222.

In 2011, a law passed requiring the Texas Department of State Health Services and Texas Education Agency to compile a list of suicide prevention programs. Now, the Dallas News reports that another law awaits approval from the governor. The new law would require school districts to train staff members to be alert for the signs of mental illness or suicidal tendencies. If staff members noticed potential problems, they would be required to notify parents or guardians that they suspected an increased suicide risk.

Our Dallas suicide lawyers know that suicide is a major problem among teens and that the more people looking out for signs of suicide, the better the chances that suicide can be prevented. Hopefully, the governor will sign the law requiring suicide prevention training among school staff members. But in the meantime some schools have already begun implementing suicide prevention programs ahead of the law’s passage in order to better protect their students.

Suicide Prevention Programs Aim to Protect Students

After the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Education Agency compiled their list of recommended suicide prevention programs, school districts in the state began adopting the programs that were suggested or began implementing their own program.

Several of these school districts, including Rockwall ISD, are located in North Texas. Unfortunately, despite these policies, two Rockwall students, including a high school freshman and an eighth grader, recently took their own lives.  These deaths, however, do not mean that the existing suicide prevention programs have not been effective at saving other teenagers.

Suicide is a major issue in Texas, with 398 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 dying by suicide in 2010.  During that same year, another 22 young people between the ages of 5 and 14 died by suicide.  This is a high number of youth suicides and even one death is a tragedy for parents and for the community at large.

Taking action to prevent further deaths and to reduce the number of kids who lose their lives is essential and teachers and school professionals who spend a lot of time with kids can provide important assistance in recognizing the signs that something is wrong.

Rep. Garnet Coleman, a sponsor of the current bill that would require staff training, has acknowledged that no program can completely prevent suicides. However, he believes that Texas cannot afford to do nothing and that services for the mentally ill need to be increased along with education about suicide and its risk factors.

Coleman wrote the current bill on staff training in 2011 and indicated that those in state government believe that the best way to attack the high suicide rate is “to have eyes – and more trained eyes.” A requirement that teachers and school staff learn about suicide prevention would provide these additional eyes and could hopefully help to reduce the number of young people who lose their lives before they even really begin.

If you lost a loved  one to suicide, contact the Dallas Law Offices of Skip Simpson, dedicated to holding mental health counselors accountable. Call  214-618-8222.

Anti-epilepsy drugs such as Lyrica work to prevent seizures in patients who suffer from epilepsy and are also used to treat certain health conditions. Unfortunately, many anti-epileptic drugs also have an unexpected side effect: they can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in patients. The consequences of this side effect can be very severe, especially if patients are not monitored carefully. Tragically, some patients taking these drugs can die by suicide as a result of the effects of the medication.  

Our Dallas suicide lawyers know that some anti-epilepsy drugs may as much as double the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in patients. Because of this side effect, physicians can potentially be held legally liable if someone taking an anti-epileptic dies by suicide. This is especially true if the deceased patient was taking the drug after the FDA mandating warning labels on the medications. The most obvious area of concern is the lack of sufficient monitoring of the patient prescribed Lyrica and other epilepsy medication.  Further physicians should warn the patient and family members, after approval by the patient, of the signs and symptoms of an increased risk for suicide.  Failure to warn and monitor appropriately is like throwing the dice with patient safety.

Suicide Risks of Antiepileptic Medications

The dangers associated with anti-epileptic medications have been apparent for a long time. Back in 2008, the New York Times wrote an article warning that patients prescribed certain anti-epileptic medications including Lyrica had double the risks of suicidal tendencies when compared with those not taking the medications. The risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among patients dosed with placebo medications was .22 percent and the risk associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors among those dosed with the anti-epileptics rose to .43 percent.

This is a significant increase, especially considering that suicidal thinking can lead to suicidal actions and death by suicide. The increased risk is also a problem because it can begin as early as the first week that the medication therapy is administered and the risk can persist for the entire time that someone takes the medications.

Unfortunately, despite the increased risk, the drugs initially lacked a warning label and, at first, the F.D.A. did not believe that it was appropriate to require a warning.

The F.D.A. conducted placebo controlled studies on the use of 11 anti-epileptic drugs to assess the risk and studied the drug’s use, not just in treating epilepsy, but also in treating other health conditions and disorders. Based on its findings, the F.D.A. issued safety alerts on both December 16, 2008 and January 31, 2009.

On May 5, 2009, the FDA issued an update mandating that manufacturers of anti-epileptic drugs and anti-convulsant drugs needed to alter their product labels to include warnings about increased risks of suicidal thoughts and actions. Manufacturers would also be required to create a medication guide in order to better explain the risks.

The medications affected that the F.D.A. required a new warning for included:

• Carbatrol
• Celontin
• Depakene
• Depakote ER
• Depakote sprinkles
• Depakote tablets
• Dilantin
• Equetro
• Felbatol
• Gabitril
• Keppra
• Keppra XR
• Klonopin
• Lamictal
• Lyrica
• Mysoline
• Neurontin
• Peganone
• Stavzor
• Tegretol
• Tegretol XR
• Topamax
• Tranxene
• Tridione
• Trileptal
• Zarontin
• Zonegran
• Generic versions of these anti-epileptic medications.

Those who lost loved ones due to suicide or who experienced harm as a result of suicidal tendencies may have a legal claim against physicians or other prescribers of these medications due to the increased risk of suicide. Those who lost a loved one or who were injured prior to the label change may be able to make their case based on the drug company’s failure to warn the public about the high risk of suicide the medicine created while others can use strict liability rules to take action against the manufacturers of the defective and dangerous drugs.

If you lost a loved one to suicide, contact the Dallas Law Offices of Skip Simpson, dedicated to holding drug manufacturers accountable. Call  214-618-8222.