Virginian Pilot
Lawsuit against former Va. Beach psychiatrist resolved out of court
By Elizabeth Simpson
The Virginian-Pilot
July 6, 2015

A lawsuit against a former Virginia Beach psychiatrist that was set to begin next week has been resolved out of court, according to a lawyer who represents the parents of Richard Fee, a Virginia Beach man who committed suicide in November 2011 after being prescribed escalating doses of Adderall.

Robert Moreland, who represents Kathy and Rick Fee of Virginia Beach, said the resolution with former psychiatrist Waldo Ellison contains a clause to not reveal the terms of the resolution, which was made late Thursday.

Ellison was one of two psychiatrists who treated Richard Fee, who died at the age of 24 in a Norfolk apartment, in the year leading up to his suicide. Moreland said the other psychiatrist, Dr. Charles Parker, had been dismissed from the $2 million suit that was filed in Norfolk Circuit Court in August 2013.

Fee’s case gained national attention after the New York Times used his story to draw attention to the issue of prescription drug abuse.

Ellison’s medical license was suspended by the Virginia Board of Medicine Nov. 1, which coincided with Ellison’s retirement, for improper diagnosing and monitoring practices. Parker was reprimanded by the board regarding the same case.

Waldo Ellison