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Was Prince’s Death a Matter of Medical Malpractice?

Written by Berkowitz

Pill Bottle TopsSince Prince’s death, there has been an issue of suspected medical malpractice. On July 1, 2016, ABC News was able to successfully sue the Quad City International airport in Illinois to have them release the recording from the emergency landing – to help establish if malpractice was at play. Prince’s plane was en-route from Atlanta to Minnesota when his private jet made an emergency landing after the star was found unresponsive a little after 1:00 am CDT.

The recording started with a simple request for an ambulance. At that point, however, Prince was lifeless and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office stated that he has self-administered a fatal dose of fentanyl. His death was ruled as an accidental toxicity, which was the same diagnosis for famous performer Michael Jackson.

Prince was 57 at the time of his death. Since the release of the recordings, there has been a formal investigation launched into Prince’s primary physician, Dr. Schulenberg, as well as an addiction specialist overseeing Prince’s care. The release about the emergency landing may implicate potential medical malpractice, but the result has not yet been released. A representative speaking on the performer’s private jet was cool and collected, and even suggested that the performer had already had more than one overdose. The lack of panic makes it seem as though these overdoses were a usual activity for the performer.

It has been questioned as to how the performer was able to get his hands on his own personal inventory of Fentanyl. In his possession was a surplus of this injectable painkiller, and this pain medication was what led to his death. The question is whether his primary physician helped him acquire the medication, or if his addiction doctor had done anything regarding Prince’s addiction – especially if he had a preponderance for overdoses in the past. The addiction specialist, Dr. Kornfield, has claimed that he never actually met the performer, but was contacted by the family regarding Prince’s addiction.

It has been suggested that Prince’s physician, who resigned shortly after the performer’s death, has an admittance of guilty. It has also been inferred that Prince did not have any known ailments that would have warranted such a strong prescription pain medication in his possession. This alone could be considered malpractice.

Holding a Physician Accountable – Can You Sue for the Over-Prescribing of Pain Medications?

In most cases, yes, you could. In this instance, Prince’s family could sue the physician for prescribing pain medications when it was not necessary to do so. Also, the physician could be sued for failing to monitor the patient – and allowing him to administer it to without physician assistance. Furthermore, if Prince’s addiction was because of an overabundance of prescriptions, the physician could be considered liable.

Berkowitz and Hanna LLC – Connecticut’s Experts in Medical Malpractice

Have you been injured by a negligent physician? Do you feel that your pain medication addiction is due to over prescribing? If so, speak with a medical malpractice attorney at Berkowitz and Hanna LLC. Our attorneys can assist you with your potential claim. Contact Berkowitz and Hanna LLC today to schedule a no-obligation case evaluation. Call or contact us online to get started.

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