Relatives of the late Prince are suing Trinity Medical Center in Illinois -- the hospital that treated the singer for an opioid overdose in April 2016 before his fatal overdose a week later -- and the pharmacy chain Walgreens.
Relatives of the late Prince are suing Trinity Medical Center in Illinois -- the hospital that treated the singer for an opioid overdose in April 2016 before his fatal overdose a week later -- and the pharmacy chain Walgreens.
According to court papers obtained by ET, Prince's family claims that the singer received improper medical care after his private plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, on April 15, 2016. The suit claims that the hospital "failed to timely and appropriately diagnose and treat opiate overdose; failed to provide timely and appropriate counseling for opiate overdose; and failed to timely and appropriately investigate the cause of opiate overdose," which was a “direct and proximate cause” of Prince's death on April 21, 2016.
The family also claims in the suit that Walgreens stores in Minnesota dispensed prescription medication to Prince "not valid for a legitimate medical purpose" and also "failed to conduct appropriate drug utilization review."
ET has reached out to both Trinity Medical Center and Walgreens. A spokesperson for Walgreens declined to comment on pending litigation.
In a statement to The New York Times, lawyers for Prince’s family, George Loucas and John Goetz, said the family hopes the lawsuit sheds light on prescription drug abuse.
“What happened to Prince is happening to families across America," the statement reads. "The family wishes through its investigation to shed light on this epidemic and how to better the fight to save lives. If Prince’s death helps save lives, then all was not lost.”
Prince was found dead in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was 57 years old.
Last Thursday, Carver County Attorney Mark Metz announced at a press conference that no criminal charges will be filed following the two-year death investigation into the "Purple Rain" singer's death. Metz said that evidence suggests that Prince thought he was taking Vicodin, not fentanyl on the night he overdosed. Metz said that a significant number of prescription pills were found at Prince's Paisley Park estate that were not placed in the container provided by the pharmacy, and that evidence suggests Prince took counterfeit Vicodin laced with fentanyl, adding that nothing in the evidence suggests that he knowingly ingested fentanyl. Authorities do not know where Prince got the counterfeit pills.
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