Family Sues Harvard Over Son’s Suicide

The family of a Harvard undergraduate who committed suicide two years ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Harvard College and two professionals at University Health Services on Wednesday.

John B. Edwards III ’10 was a sophomore preparing for a medical career and training for the Boston Marathon when he committed suicide in November 2007.

The lawsuit, filed by his father, John B. Edwards II, alleges that his son sought care at UHS in June 2007, “frustrated because he could not study for as long a period as his friends.” A nurse practitioner at UHS diagnosed Edwards with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and prescribed Adderall, according to the lawsuit.

In August 2007, Edwards again saw the nurse practitioner, Marianne Cannon, who diagnosed Edwards with an anxiety disorder, later prescribing the antidepressants Prozac and then Wellbutrin, the lawsuit alleges.

It goes on to allege that Edwards was also taking Accutane, a powerful anti-acne drug, so that in November 2007—the month during which Edwards committed suicide—he was simultaneously taking Accutane, Adderall, Prozac, and Wellbutrin.

Accutane’s side effects include increased risk of depression and suicide, and both Prozac and Wellbutrin carry a “black box” label warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about increased risks of suicidal thoughts and behavior, according to the manufacturers’ and FDA’s Web sites.

Harvard spokesperson Kevin Galvin released the following e-mailed statement: “We understand how difficult it must be for John Edward’s [sic] family to cope with such a tragic loss, but we are confident that the care he received at Harvard University Health Services was thorough and appropriate and he was monitored closely by its physicians and allied health specialists. Similar complaints previously have been filed with the Board or [sic] Registration in Medicine, the Board of Registration in Nursing and the Board of Registration in Pharmacy, and in all three instances the complaints were dismissed upon review.”

Lisa G. Arrowood, the attorney representing Edwards, said that the drug combination is associated with an increased risk of suicide.

Arrowood declined to comment further and declined to comment on behalf of John B. Edwards II, Edwards’ father, who could not be reached for comment.

“John Edwards was given quite a brew, quite a combination of drugs,” said psychiatrist David M. Bear ’65, whose son was childhood friends with Edwards.

“I’m not saying it’s totally inappropriate, but it’s a combination most of us would want to watch very carefully under the care of a real expert,” added Bear, who has experience testifying in court as a forensic psychiatrist.

The complaint alleges that Cannon was Edwards’ primary care provider and that no physician provided proper supervision.

Bear said that a nurse practitioner should not have been supervising Edwards due to the complexity of the case and the number of drugs involved.

“Almost no one could disagree that a psychopharmacologist should have been overseeing all of this,” Bear said.

“If all this man got were those drugs and one talk from a psychologist, it falls below the standard of practice,” he said.

—Staff writer Danielle J. Kolin can be reached at dkolin@fas.harvard.edu.