Mozer case to go to trial
 

By: Robert Lachman 12/18/2003

 Ritalin suit will be heard in federal court

 The story of former Millbrook School student Michael Mozer and his suit
 against the Millbrook Central School District, three physicians and two
 former school officials, is back on the front burner and will soon be
going  to a jury trial.

 In a recent opinion and order, Federal Judge William C. Conner ruled that
 Mozer's case will indeed be heard in federal court, officially dismissing
 the school's and physician's attempts to have it thrown out of court.
 The case was brought in 2002 by Mozer's mother Patricia Weathers and is
just  one of a number of similar cases around the country that question the
right  of schools to medicate children who they feel are disruptive.

 Weathers alleges it all started in 1997 when she was told by the Millbrook
 Central School District that her son couldn't learn effectively unless she
 medicated him and that he was suffering from Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity  Disorder (ADHD). She also alleges that the school told her that if she
 refused to medicate her child he would have to go to a special education
 school. A single mother, Weathers claims that the school's "coercive
 tactics" wore her down and she began drugging her son with Ritalin two
weeks  before the end of his first grade year. She said that the first grade
 teacher filled out an ADHD checklist, sent it to the pediatrician and
based  on this checklist her son was diagnosed with ADHD.

 Weathers also alleges  that her son was drugged through second and third grade and though the
 school sent glowing reports home things were not going well there. The
 Ritalin was allegedly causing her son to show "bizarre chewing behaviors,
 increased anxiety and social withdrawal," and to correct this Weathers
 claims a medication change was made. If one drug didn't work try another.
 According to the suit, Pediatrician Lynn Liptay, one of the individuals
 named in the action, raised and lowered the Ritalin dosage over time until
 Nov. 3 1998 when she switched Mozer's drug from Ritalin to 10 mg. of
 Dexedrine (speed) a day. This caused other side effects and Weathers took
 her son to Dr. Julian Speicher, a psychiatrist (also named in the suit)
who
 proceeded to give him the anti-depressant Paxil for a "social anxiety
 disorder," though the drug had never been FDA approved for children under
 18.

 After months of her son's violent mood swings Weathers says she stopped
the  drugs all together and because of that the school allegedly dismissed her
 child as well as calling Child Protective Services charging her with
medical  neglect. Weathers thinks her son would have been removed from her care if
 she had not had a second evaluation done that stated her son didn't need
 medication.

 Weathers' son has been off drugs since 1999 and she and another parent,
 Sheila Matthews, started AbleChild: Parents for Label and Drug Free
 Education in hopes of alerting parents to the facts. She is happy that a
 trial will go forward.

 "I'm thrilled. This is going to help all parents across the nation," she
 said. "I'm also working on the Child Medication Safety Act that passed the
 House 455-1. I have lobbied quite heavily on this bill on behalf of more
 than 600 parents who went through what I did."

 Weathers spoke about her son and explained that she home schools him now.
 "Michael is wonderful. He's a good kid with a big heart," she said.
Giving  drugs to your child should be your choice and should not be forced on you
by  anyone. So far seven states have already outlawed schools from giving
drugs to students."

 So far Weathers says that the Millbrook School District has settled with
her for her son's education by basically paying her back for the psychiatrists
 fees and other services. "They tried to get the civil case dismissed and the judge said no,"
Weathers  said. "Hopefully it will make a difference in other people's lives."

 New Jersey attorney Alan Milstein is bringing the case and he feels it's
an  important one.  "It's certainly a big deal, there's an FDA conference on this," said
 Milstein. "The drugging of children is a big deal and it seems things are
 starting to generate a lot of positive work in this area thanks to
Patricia.

 She feels she was gravely wronged, as was her child."  Milstein said he will be

 ready to try this case sometime in the spring or  summer. He has filed what is called

 a "joint and several liability case"  where everyone is involved as a group. It includes

The Millbrook Central  School District, Dr. Elaine Zucci a former licensed school psychologist in
 Millbrook, the former Director of Pupil Personnel Services Linda Beyer and
 former Alden Place Elementary Principal Fred Merz.

 "All I can do is try and get compensation for the harm that was done to
 Michael," Milstein said

.?Millbrook Round Table 2003