$5 Million Awarded In Anti-Depressant Negligence Case

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Jay Johnston had been under a doctor's care since 1996 for depression. He was first put on Zolof, and then Prozac.

After he was put on medication, Johnston tried commit suicide. He lived, but is permanently disfigured from the shotgun blast.

"At that point, I was so tired from the long fight with (depression) that ... I was willing to die just so I didn't have to feel the pain," he said.

The jury on the case found the doctor negligent.

"The very ominous fact that came out of this, was in the research we did in preparing for trial, was that too many family doctors are relying on the medication alone," Johnston's attorney Mike Shinn said. "And this happened here, giving these kids a prescription that lasts for a year with almost no follow up."

Johnston is currently attending Portland State University, where he maintains a 4.0 grade average.

He still faces more reconstructive surgery.

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