Chris Cornell: Settlement Reached in Lawsuit Against Doctor that Prescribed Singer Drugs
A settlement has been reached against the doctor of Chris Cornell who prescribed the singer the drugs his widow, Vicky Cornell, suspects had a hand in ending his life.
Per Deadline, the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in November 2018 on behalf of Vicky Cornell and her two children with Chris Cornell has reached a confidential settlement.
Deadline notes, “The plaintiffs allege that Dr. Robert Koblin prescribed the drugs — most notably Lorazepam, or Ativan — to Cornell beginning in September 2015 and continued to do so without ever actually examining the singer…Koblin prescribed him ‘more than 940 doses of Lorazepam’ during the last 20 months of his life, according to the lawsuit, which alleges that ‘at no time during this period did Dr. Koblin conduct a medical examination of Mr. Cornell, perform any laboratory studies, obtain an interim history or do any type of clinical assessment of Mr. Cornell. He did not even physically see or speak to Mr. Cornell during this period.'”
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Deadline added, “The lawsuit, which alleged negligence, willful misconduct and failure to obtain informed consent, stated that for people with a history of substance abuse or addictive disorders, Lorazepam ‘was known to increase the risk of suicide by severely impairing judgment and rational thinking and by lessening impulse control.'”
Due to the Cornell children still being minors and being listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a hearing for court approval of their part of the settlement will take place on July 26.
Following the news of the settlement, Vicky Cornell released the following statement:
“Some of you may have read about the leaked court documents concerning my family’s settlement with Chris’s prescribing doctor. While my family is relieved that our dispute is finally on the verge of resolution, we will provide additional information once the settlement has been formally approved by the Court.
In the meantime, we continue to mourn Chris’ tragic and untimely death, and are focusing on changing the law to require doctors to be educated about the risks of prescribing Benxodiazepines to patients with a history of addiction.
Thank you for your continued love and support through these last 4 years.”