May 31, 2013 2 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – The family of a therapist killed in a clinic shooting last year reached a $1.5 million settlement with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, but then decided not to finalize the agreement, court documents show.

Michael Schaab’s parents and fiancee met with UPMC officials last July, about four months after the 25-year-old was shot by gunman John Shick, the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reported Friday, citing court documents unsealed at the newspaper’s request.

Shick shot six people at UPMC’s Western Psychiatric Institute in Pittsburgh before police shot him to death.

The health care giant concluded it had a defense based on worker’s compensation law, but “thought it was better not to put the Schaab family or our people through an extensive and adversarial litigation process,” Richard P. Kidwell, UPMC’s senior associate counsel and vice president of risk management, told the paper.

UPMC opted for mediation with Schaab’s family.

The Post-Gazette reported the parties signed a handwritten document titled “Settlement Agreement” that stated that a potential claim on the estate of Schaab against UPMC, its doctors and related entities was settled for $1.5 million.

In September, a formal document was sent to the Schaabs and his fiancee to sign, but they declined to because of fears it would prevent them from suing others, including Shick’s estate.

Another law firm is now handling the case for Schaab’s family.