HAMPTON — It's been two years this week since Navy veteran Kelli Grese committed suicide by overdosing on an antipsychotic.
Her sister, Darla Grese, has a pending $5 million wrongful death lawsuit against Hampton VA Medical Center. In the suit Grese alleges that her sister was given too much of the drug Seroquel and that it ultimately caused her death on Nov. 12, 2010.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Newport News, says that on Oct. 19, 2010, Kelli Grese's Seroquel supply was increased from a 30-day to a 60-day supply. A day later Grese was given "an immediate refill of the 60-day supply of Seroquel."
"Ms. Grese committed suicide by ingesting all or a large portion of that 120-day supply of Seroquel on or about November 12, 2010," court documents state.
A bench trial is scheduled for April 9, 2013.
Kelli Grese attempted to use the drug to commit suicide three times earlier in 2010 — March 12, May 9 and May 27 — court documents show. Seroquel is prescribed for treatment of depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Kelli Grese is described in court documents as having suffered from major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
"The United States, through its employees, was aware of Ms. Grese's three attempts at suicide via an ingestion of Seroquel during the last year of her life," the finding of fact states.
In their response to the complaint the medical center denies that its employees were negligent in Kelli Grese's death.
Darla Grese was not available for comment when reached by phone Monday afternoon.
Kelli Grese was discharged from the Navy in August 1997. She began receiving care at Hampton VA Medical Center in the 1990s.
In March 2009 Kelli Grese was diagnosed with severe depression and was classified as a suicide risk. She also suffered from paranoid delusions, major depression, recurrent with psychotic features, the complaint states.
"The patient also thinks that people are against her and they are trying to hurt her. She also felt that the CIA was tracking her daily activities and that her whole house is being taped," according the complaint.
"The standard of care was breached when the United States, through its employees, gave the descendent a quadruple supply of Seroquel in the days leading up to her death," court documents state.