GW Psychiatric Treatment -- What Did the Board of Trustees Know and When Did They Know It?

I sent the following letter to George Washington University trustee Harold Baker, Esq. (deceased) at the time my then treating psychiatrist at GW, Dimitrios Georgopoulos, M.D. diagnosed paranoid schizophrenia.  I had had several written communications with another GW University trustee, Sheldon S. Cohen, Esq.  I do not know whether Mr. Baker discussed this letter with anyone at GW, Akin Gump, or Mr. Cohen or others.  I do not know what documents I transmitted to Mr. Baker together with the following cover letter.

February 13, 1996
3801 Connecticut Ave., NW
#136
Washington, DC  20008-4530

Harold F. Baker, Esq.
Trustee, George Washington University
1299 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC  20004

Dear Mr. Baker:

As a courtesy to the George Washington University I enclose a collection of documents that may be material to the University’s defense of a possible future wrongful death or personal injury action brought against the University by my victim(s) or their survivor(s) should I commit an act of violence, including homicide or other heinous crime, consistent with the risk determination made by the Government of the District of Columbia or attorney managers and senior supervisors of the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.

The enclosed documents raise serious issues of legal liability for the University with respect to the standard of care of medical doctors enrolled in a residency program and the standard of care of board-certified staff psychiatrists in a supervisory capacity in the handling of a patient who has been determined by a government agency and a former employer to pose a significant risk of violence (including homicide).

Were I to commit an act of violence, including homicide or other heinous crime, consistent with the risk determinations of Laurence J. Hoffman, Esq., Dennis M. Race. Esq. and senior supervisors of the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld; the Government of the District of Columbia; or the most serious concerns of the US. Secret Service, one may rest assured that attorneys representing my victims or their survivor(s) would scrutinize my medical records with great care to evaluate any deviations from an appropriate standard of care.

Make no mistake: if the facts of my case applied to one of the defendants in the Oklahoma City bombing matter, the resulting financial liability of the University to the victims and survivors would be catastrophic.

While I disavow an intent to commit an act of violence, my medical records expressly state that I may have lied on psychological testing administered in May 1994 in order to conceal the nature and severity of a paranoid (psychotic) mental disorder (which presumably places me at risk of committing an act of violence); that I do not appear to have a good psychological coping mechanism; and that further psychotic decompensation can be expected to occur at any time

I have been under investigation by the U.S. Secret Service as a potential threat to the life of the President of the United States, and and have apprised the Office of U.S. Attorney (Eric H. Holder, Jr.) and the U.S. Department of Justice (John C. Keeney, Jr., U.S. Attorney General, Criminal Division) of all facts pertinent to this matter.

My psychiatrist at the George Washington University Medical Center, Dimitrios Georgopoulos, M.D., chief psychiatry resident maintains that my diagnosis is paranoid schizophrenia, a severe and disabling mental illness that is frequently associated with violent behavior.  I continue to receive disability benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration.

You may feel free to review this matter, and the enclosed documents, with any persons of your choice.  I stand ready to assist you in any way to resolve any concerns you may have,

Sincerely,

Gary Freedman