AP News, April 20th, 2007
Doug Williams had undergone psychological evaluation for a racially charged argument with a fellow worker less than two years before he went on a shooting rampage at a Mississippi Lockheed Martin plant in 2003, killing six people and injuring eight.
Now the family of one victim alleges that Milwaukee, Wis.-based NEAS Inc. and Meridian-based Psychology Associates failed to address the racism and rage that erupted in one of the nation's deadliest workplace attacks.
The family of Thomas Willis is suing the companies in federal court "for damages and for acknowledgment that this was a senseless racial murder," said attorney William F. Blair.
A hearing had been scheduled for April 23 but was postponed. A new date has not been set.
Williams, who had worked for Lockheed almost two decades, abruptly walked out of a mandatory diversity training class at the plant on July 8, 2003. He returned with a 12-gauge shotgun and a semiautomatic rifle, shooting 14 people before killing himself.
Willis, who had apparently complained to company officials about Williams' threats, was shot in the back as he tried to flee, Blair said.
Williams' black co-workers at the plant say they had complained for months that he threatened them, used racial slurs and even spoke of a coming "race war." Five of the six killed in the attack were black, while a majority of those injured were white.
Mark Carlson, the attorney for Psychology Associates, said company officials "categorically deny that they're liable in any regard."
"I really can't comment on ongoing litigation, but I can tell you from a factual standpoint Psychology Associates only saw this man three times and that was between Dec. 21, 2001, and Jan. 11, 2002, which as you know is 18 months prior to the shooting," Carlson said.
Williams was referred to NEAS, then to its affiliate, Psychology Associates, in response to the argument with a black employee, Blair said.
"Lockheed told NEAS about the violent racial threats; NEAS employed Psychology Associates in Meridian to evaluate Williams but only told Psychology Associates that Williams had communication problems," Blair said. "We contend that both companies failed to reasonably evaluate Doug Williams."
Blair claims the companies did little to defuse Williams' hostility and allowed him to return to work without addressing serious psychological problems.
Philip Chard, NEAS' president and chief operating officer, told The Associated Press on Thursday that "there's pending litigation on that case so I wouldn't be able to comment."
NEAS attorneys did not immediately respond to messages left by the AP.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Robert Phillips, known for his work in evaluating the man who shot President Reagan in 1981, John Hinckley Jr., was hired by Willis' family as an expert witness. Phillips says both NEAS and Psychology Associates are at fault.
"NEAS had a clinical responsibility to advise Psychology Associates that Doug Williams threatened to kill multiple individuals," Phillips said in a report. "Psychology Associates had a clinical responsibility to inquire into all relevant facts of Doug Williams' threats based upon the nature of his referral and clinical presentation."
Lawyers for NEAS have filed a motion seeking to prevent Phillips' testimony from being considered.
Legal experts not involved in the case say it could be difficult to prove the mental health providers are liable for Williams' violent outbreak.
"The general idea that they didn't quite do enough to foresee this is a very difficult basis for a lawsuit," said Matt Steffey, a professor at the Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson. "If he were in there (in counseling) saying, 'I'm locked and loaded at home and it's just a matter of time and I'm going to go in there one day and take it out on them,' ... then there's some precedent for liability."
It's not clear what Williams discussed during his counseling sessions, but mental health providers have been found liable for not properly addressing a patient's violent tendencies in the past.
"Psychologist or psychiatrists are not responsible for their patients, but they are responsible for their own behavior," said Mike Hoffheimer, a law professor at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. "If they release someone or certify someone as safe and they have violated professional standards of care, then they can be liable for their own misconduct."
And, the experts say, there is an inherent danger in courts holding counselors responsible for the actions of their patients, which by the nature of the business are troubled people.
"There's a risk if they're found liable too often, they will stop seeing people or that they will err on the side that people are dangerous who are not dangerous," Hoffheimer said. "We don't want that, either."
Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp. is not a party in the lawsuit and had no comment. Lockheed faced multiple lawsuits over the shooting, at least one of which was settled. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. Other lawsuits were dismissed, according to company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
