$77.5 Million Verdict for Family of Man Killed on I-85 Days After Treatment Center Cut His Medication

Nicholas Carusillo was 29 and had lived with bipolar disorder since his early twenties. In August 2017, after a manic episode, he was stabilized on lithium and Seroquel in an inpatient psychiatric unit. On August 29 he voluntarily entered Metro Atlanta Recovery Residences, a dual mental health and addiction treatment facility in Doraville, Georgia, because he wanted help.

A week later, a MARR physician, Dr. Richard Waldman, took him off lithium and reduced his Seroquel, despite warnings from Nick's family and his longtime mental health providers that he needed to stay on his medications. On September 19, MARR discharged him over a rule violation involving an unauthorized cell phone. His parents asked that he be allowed to stay. MARR refused and sent him to a sober living residence in Dunwoody, which put him out after a single night for breaking curfew.

By then Nick was off his psychiatric medication and in crisis. In the early morning of September 22, 2017, less than 60 hours after leaving MARR, he walked onto Interstate 85 outside Atlanta without clothing and was struck by multiple vehicles. He did not survive. His autopsy found no drugs or alcohol in his system.

His parents sued MARR, Dr. Waldman, and a MARR counselor in DeKalb County State Court, arguing that the abrupt medication changes and the discharge of a patient in a deteriorating mental state caused the psychotic episode that killed him. Natalie Woodward of Warshauer Woodward Atkins tried the case with co-counsel Dax Lopez, then of DelCampo Grayson Lopez. In September 2022, the jury returned a verdict of more than $77.5 million: $10 million for Nick's pain and suffering, $55 million for the full value of his life, $1 million in punitive damages, and more than $11 million in attorney fees and expenses. Jurors found that MARR had failed to properly train its employees and held it responsible for its staff's conduct. News coverage at the time described the award as a record for a DeKalb County jury.

The verdict did not end the case. After the trial judge denied MARR's efforts to overturn or reduce the judgment, MARR appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals in May 2024. While the appeal was pending, the parties reached a settlement. On MARR's motion, the appeals court remanded the case in April 2025 so the trial court could approve the agreement, noting that MARR could revive its appeal if approval was denied. The settlement terms were not disclosed.

Nick's parents spoke publicly throughout the litigation about why they brought the case: their son had asked for help, and the facility that was supposed to provide it sent him away without his medication. The jury heard that he died three days later.