The frontman of Soundgarden and Audioslave died by suicide last year
Vicky Cornell has filed a malpractice lawsuit in relation to her late husband Chris Cornell, claiming that his doctor prescribed “mind-altering” controlled substances that directly led to his death.
Cornell was found unconscious by his bodyguard in the bathroom of his hotel room in the MGM Grand in Detroit on 18 May 2017 following a concert with Soundgarden just a couple of hours earlier.
A medical team was unable to revive the 52-year-old and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
His wife Vicky subsequently stated that they spoke on the phone prior to his death and that Cornell was slurring his words and admitted to taking additional prescription medication – anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam (aka Ativan) – than usual.
Now, TMZ reports that Cornell’s widow is suing Dr Robert Koblin “for negligently and repeatedly prescribing dangerous mind-altering controlled substances to Chris Cornell, which impaired [his] cognition, clouded his judgment, and caused him to engage in dangerous impulsive behaviors that he was unable to control, costing him his life.”
The lawsuit contends that Koblin prescribed Cornell the drugs despite failing to conduct a full medical examination of his patient, nor perform any type of clinical assessment or even review his history.
It also argues that Cornell was prescribed too much Lorazepam, which was found in his system at the time of his death, and that the drug increases the risk of suicide and addiction-prone individuals “by impairing judgement and rational thinking”.
Vicky Cornell’s lawsuit also notes that her husband’s doctor “failed to warn or counsel” the late singer about the risk of suicidal ideation or any other related serious side effects of the drug.
TMZ also state that the suit alleges that Dr Koblin allowed his staff to write “hundreds” of Lorazepam prescriptions for Cornell “without showing any medical necessity or providing any monitoring”.
It is currently unspecified what damages Vicky Cornell and her two children are seeking.
