Getty Chris Cornell's widow Vicky Cornell is suing her late husband's doctor for malpractice, accusing the physician of over-prescribing drugs to the singer before his death.
Chris Cornell’s widow is suing her late husband’s doctor for malpractice, according to a report by TMZ. Vicky Cornell has filed a lawsuit accusing the physician of over-prescribing drugs that eventually caused the singer to commit suicide, according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Dr. Robert Koblin never warned Cornell about the dangers of suicide or other side effects of long-term Lorazepam (aka Ativan) use, an anti-anxiety drug. The lawsuit states that Cornell was prescribed too much Lorazepam, in particular, which “increases the risk of suicide in addiction-prone individuals by impairing judgment and rational thinking.”
Although Cornell was documented as an “addiction-prone individual,” the doctor is accused of not taking the proper steps to protect him from the potential side effects of Lorazepam. The suit claims, in 2004, that Cornell’s therapist for his substance abuse referred him to Dr. Koblin, so the doctor well knew the singer was an addict.
Chris Cornell’s wife Vicky with their daughter, Toni. (Vicky Cornell)
Vicky Cornell also claimed in the lawsuit that the doctor prescribed her husband “940 doses of Lorazepam as well as Oxycodone during the last 20 months of his life,” without even examining the singer, performing lab studies, or doing anything to determine if Cornell was in danger. The suit also claims that Koblin permitted non-physician staff to write hundreds of prescriptions for Cornell, without any specific medical necessity or monitoring.
The “unmonitored use of such excessive amounts of Lorazepam … was known to increase the risk of suicide because it can severely impair judgment, thinking and impulse control and diminish the ability of a patient to think and act rationally,” the lawsuit says.
Lorazepam was found in Cornell’s system at the time of his death, a toxicology report revealed. According to Pitchfork, Cornell had Naloxone, Butalbital, Lorazepam, Pseudoephedrine, and barbiturates in his system when he died.
Chris Cornell arrives at the 2009 MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute (Getty)
However, the autopsy report said the drugs were not a cause of death, despite the fact that they were in his system at the time of his death. Coroner’s investigators ruled Cornell’s death a suicide by hanging.
Vicky Cornell has said that, immediately following her husband’s death, she considered the prescription drugs he was taking drove him to take his own life. She said that there were no signs he might commit suicide leading up to his death, according to NBC.
“At the time of his death, Mr. Cornell had everything to live for and was planning a future of recordings, performances and continued work as a charitable activist,” the lawsuit says.
Koblin’s attorney, James Kjar, responded to the allegations against his client, and claims the prescriptions were appropriate, stating: “Dr. Koblin is a competent and conscientious doctor who enjoyed an excellent physician/patient relationship with Mr. Cornell and other members of his family. The experts I have consulted with believe Dr. Koblin’s treatment was within the standard of care in this community and were not a substantial factor in causing Mr. Cornell to commit suicide.”
My husband gave the world purity. His voice hailed from another galaxy found its way into the hearts of millions. His voice was freedom, was pain, was love, was light. His music is a part of him that will always remain as vivid and pure, giving hope and light to those who find it
Cornell’s widow frequently tweets about her late husband, sharing his music, his message and his voice with the world. She often shares pictures of memorials dedicated to her husband’s memory, and retweets tributes from fans and loved ones honoring his music.
“My husband gave the world purity. His voice hailed from another galaxy found its way into the hearts of millions. His voice was freedom, was pain, was love, was light. His music is a part of him that will always remain as vivid and pure, giving hope and light to those who find it,” she wrote in September.
Vicky Cornell and her two children are suing for unspecified damages. According to NBC, Cornell’s oldest daughter with Vicky, 18-year-old Toni Cornell, is also named as a defendant, but the lawsuit emphasizes that she is a “nominal defendant only, as required by law because she is heir to her father’s estate.”
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