Family of Prince Files Lawsuit Against Doctor Who Prescribed Him Meds

The family of Prince, the late Purple Rain singer, is not slowing down in their quest for vengeance. The family has now decided to file a lawsuit against the doctor who prescribed the artist medication prior to his death. 

The lawsuit, which was filed in Hennepin County District Court, claims that Dr. Michael Schulenberg and other parties neglected to properly treat Prince and restore his health. The family states that the targeted officials 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,” the Associated Press reports. 

Following the highly controversial death of the singer on April 21st, 2016, Schulenberg did admit to authorities that he'd provided a prescription of Oxycontin to Prince's bodyguard in order to protect the artist's privacy. This act alone led to a $30,000 fine. 

However, it was Fentanyl, not Oxycontin that led to prince's overdose. Rolling Stone reports that when tested, the singer was found to have "exceedingly high" levels of Fentanyl in his system. Unfortunately, the post-mortem investigation led authorities to no suspects whom could have provided the medication to Prince. Still, the lawsuit states that his family is seeking unspecified damages in excess of $50,000 from Dr. Michael Schulenberg. 

This isn't the first lawsuit to come about following the death of the star. In April, a Moline, Illinois hospital, Trinity Medical Center, came under fire for briefly treating Prince in April 2016. The families lawsuit against the hospital states that the health center failed to investigate and treat Prince following an overdose on his place that forced him to make an emergency landing. 

In addition, the family filed a lawsuit against two Minnesota Walgreens locations for “dispensing narcotic prescription medication” without proper reason. 

“The Minnesota lawsuit is against all parties whom we now believe share legal responsibility for Prince’s death, but it is possible that we will identify and add other parties as we move forward with the case,” the families lawyer, John Goetz said in a statement.

“We will have much to say when the time is right,” Goetz added. “We have client interests to protect at the moment, including our theory of the case. What happened to Prince is happening to families across America. Prince’s family wishes, through its investigation, to shed additional light on what happened to Prince. At the same time, further light on the opiate epidemic will hopefully help the fight to save lives. If Prince’s death helps save lives, then all was not lost.”