The heirs of the legendary artists formally known as Prince are suing pharmacy giant Walgreens and the Trinity Medical Center hospital in a wrongful death suit filed in Illinois.
What we know:
- Prince died in 2016 of what was ruled to be an accidental opioid painkiller overdose.
- Based on documents related to the criminal investigation released on Friday, prosecutors believe that Prince unknowingly took and likely overdosed on what he believed to be prescription opioids like Vicodin, but were actually black market versions containing the much more powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.
- After announcing the results of their criminal investigation, authorities in Minnesota stated that no one would be criminally charged in the 2016 overdose death of Prince.
- Prince’s family, under the name of a trustee, Michael A. Zimmer, charges in the suit that Prince received improper medical care in the early morning hours of April 15, 2016, after Prince’s private plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Ill., following a show in Atlanta.
- The suit alleges that Prince’s death was a “direct and proximate cause” of the hospital failing to appropriately diagnose and treat the overdose, as well as its failure to investigate the cause and provide proper counseling.
- The family is also suing Walgreens, charging its employees with “dispensing narcotic prescription medications” to the singer for an invalid medical purpose and failing to conduct the appropriate drug utilization review
We will continue to provide updates as they develop at UrbanNewsroom.com.
