Prince’s family sues doctor who prescribed pain pills two years after tragic popstar died of accidental overdose
THE family of the late tragic popstar Prince are suing a doctor who prescribed him pain pills - two years after he died of an accidental overdose.
The attorney representing his relatives said Dr. Michael Schulenberg failed to treat the singer for opiate addiction and therefore bears responsibility for his death.
He was 57 when he was found dead on April 21 2016 at his Paisley Park Studios compound in Minneapolis having taken a lethal dose of painkiller fentanyl.
Authorities say Dr Schulenberg admitted prescribing a different opioid - oxycodone - to Prince in the days before he died under his bodyguard's name to protect the musician's privacy.
Dr Schulenberg has disputed that, although he paid $30,000 (£23,000) to settle a federal civil violation alleging that the drug was prescribed illegally.
The lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court this week alleges that Dr Schulenberg and others had "an opportunity and duty during the weeks before Prince's death to diagnose and treat Prince's opioid addiction, and to prevent his death. They failed to do so."
According to the complaint, which was first reported by ABC News.com , Prince's family seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000 (£39,000).
An attorney for Prince's six surviving siblings said Friday that the new lawsuit will eventually replace one they filed in April in Illinois to beat a legal deadline.
A week before he died, Prince lost consciousness on a flight home from playing a concert in Atlanta.
The plane made an emergency stop in Moline, Illinois, where he was revived at Trinity Medical Center with a drug that reverses opioid overdoses.
Attorney John Goetz said in a statement: "Prince lived in Minnesota all his life and passed away here, so we always thought his family's lawsuit belonged in Minnesota."
He said they now have sufficient legal grounds to pursue the lawsuit in Prince's home state.
Dr Schulenberg's attorney, Paul Peterson, said on Friday that they believe the lawsuit has no merit.
He said: "We understand this situation has been difficult on everyone close to Mr. Nelson and his fans across the globe.
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"Be that as it may, Dr. Schulenberg stands behind the care that Mr. Nelson received. We intend to defend this case."
Authorities say Prince probably didn't know he was taking counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl that looked like a generic version of the painkiller Vicodin.
The source of those pills remains unknown and no one has been charged in Prince's death.
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