LEESBURG, Virginia (AP) — The parents of an 18-year-old northern Virginia man who took his own life are suing his high-school counselor, contending he failed a duty to inform them that their son had expressed suicidal thoughts.

Counselor Richard Bader’s lawyer tells The Washington Post that Jay Gallagher told Bader not to talk to his parents. Attorney Julia Judkins says that was Gallagher’s right.

She also says Gallagher told Bader he was not suicidal during their meeting at Potomac Falls High School in Potomac Falls last January. Gallagher was found dead in his room Feb. 3.

Parents Erin and Timothy Gallagher filed the $5 million wrongful death suit Friday in Leesburg. It contends the school system’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan required Bader to fill out a suicide screening form and notify Gallagher’s parents.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com