9/25/01 • Psychiatrist denied job sues U of T Linked prozac to suicid

http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20010925/704776.html&qs=Healy

Julie Smyth National Post

A prominent British psychiatrist has filed a $9.4-million lawsuit against
the University of Toronto and an affiliated teaching hospital alleging he
was denied academic freedom when his employment contract was revoked one
week after he delivered a lecture linking the drug Prozac to suicide.

The lawsuit, which will be the first in Canada to test the issue of academic
freedom, asks the court to establish a new tort, or civil law, recognizing a
professor's right to speak out without fear of being fired or reprimanded.

The suit alleges the university and the Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health (CAMH) breached their contract when they rescinded Dr. David Healy's
$250,000-a-year job offer. It also claims they libeled him in memos and
articles about his controversial remarks about the anti-depressant drug.

The statement of claim, filed in the Superior Court of Justice, states that
on Nov. 30 last year, Dr. Healy, who had accepted an offer as clinical
director at the centre and professor of psychiatry at the university, told a
conference at CAMH that he believed Prozac could cause some patients to
commit suicide. His lawyer said yesterday the statement was based on Dr.
Healy's research, as well as studies by other doctors.

After Dr. Healy's lecture, Dr. David Goldbloom, physician-in-chief at CAMH
and professor of psychiatry at the university with authority over hiring,
"was very critical of the content [of the lecture] and appeared to have been
personally angered by it," the suit alleges.

It states that Eli Lilly, which manufactures Prozac, had been a major donor
to the teaching hospital, contributing at least $1.5-million. It also says
that on the day of the conference, representatives of CAMH met with the
company.

The statement of claim alleges that on or around Nov. 30, Dr. Charles
Nemeroff, a psychiatrist who has been a major shareholder in Eli Lilly and
other pharmaceutical companies, and who was at the conference, spoke to Dr.
Goldbloom about Dr. Healy's comments about the drug.

Dr. Healy received a letter on Dec. 7 from Dr. Goldbloom stating the offer
was withdrawn, the lawsuit states. It cites the letter as saying:
"Essentially, we believe that it is not a good fit between you and the role
as leader of an academic program ... This view was solidified by your recent
appearance at the centre in the context of an academic lecture."

Dr. Healy, who works at the University of Wales, acknowledged there might be
criticism about the amount of damages sought, but said if the claim is
successful, punitive damages will be used to establish a Canadian trust fund
for academic freedom.

The suit asks that Dr. Healy be reinstated or, alternatively, that the
university and the teaching hospital pay damages. It also names Dr. Paul
Garfinkel, president and chief executive of CAMH, and Dr. David Naylor, dean
of the Faculty of Medicine at the university, as defendants.

CAMH issued a statement yesterday saying the centre stands by its decision
to rescind Dr. Healy's job offer, which it says was based "solely on the
needs of our patients and staff." The statement says hiring decisions have
never been influenced by an outside donor.

Vivek Goel, vice-provost for faculty at the University of Toronto, said he
was surprised the university was named in the suit, saying that, while the
two institutions are affiliated, CAMH made and rescinded the job offer.

He said the university's investigations suggest the drug company did not
play a role in the decision to revoke the position and he added that the
university would be prepared to appoint Dr. Healy to its faculty if he is
given a clinical appointment at the teaching hospital. Neither institution
has filed a statement of defence in court.