Opinion ID: 3095155
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Harvey’s Death

Text: From 2002 until his death in January 2010, Harvey was a Turner employee and was eligible for coverage under the Plan for both accidental death and dismemberment (“AD&D”) and supplemental life insurance benefits. The Plan vested MetLife as plan administrator with “discretionary authority to interpret the terms of the Plan and to determine eligibility” for benefits. On January 13, 2010, Harvey visited his family physician, complaining of stress at work and trouble sleeping during the previous six months. He indicated that he had not been able to sleep at all for the three days preceding that office visit. His physician ruled out depression and treated Harvey for insomnia and anxiety by prescribing 3 milligrams per day of the sleep aid Lunesta. Harvey took his first dose of Lunesta on January 13 and repeated it on January 14 and 15. While taking the drug, he complained to Loy at some point about having problems with “fuzzy memory.” Before going to bed at midnight on January 16, Harvey again took Lunesta as prescribed. A few hours later, he got out of bed. Shortly thereafter, Loy found him lying in their driveway in a pool of blood suffering from a gunshot wound to his head. She called 911. 2 Case: 13-30745 Document: 00512686671 Page: 3 Date Filed: 07/03/2014 No. 13-30745 Detectives from the East Baton Rouge Sherriff’s Department (“EBRSD”) responded to the scene “in reference to an attempted suicide.” Harvey was transported to the hospital where he died several hours later. According to the treating physician at the hospital, Harvey had likely placed the handgun found at the scene under his chin, aimed it in an upward direction, and pulled the trigger. One detective personally observed that Harvey had an “exit wound on the left side of his head toward the top with what appeared to be brain matter oozing out of the wound.” Another detective noted blood on Harvey’s body and hands, as well as something that appeared to be “blowback” on his left hand. Detectives recovered a .45 caliber revolver lying approximately two feet from the blood stain on the driveway. The gun’s cylinder contained five live rounds and one fired round; the fired round was in line with the barrel and hammer. This evidence led detectives to “believe that the weapon was only fired one time and that no other attempt to fire the weapon had been made.” No one found a suicide note. The parish coroner issued Harvey’s death certificate the following month, listing the cause of death as “suicide.” Although he later provided affidavits explaining that Harvey was likely under the influence of Lunesta and therefore did not “consciously and intentionally t[ake] his own life,” the coroner made no move to amend the death certificate to reclassify the death as accidental.