Further controversy has ensued regarding the death of famed Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, as the musician’s former doctor Dr. Robert Koblin, denies any wrongdoing in a malpractice lawsuit filed by Cornell’s family. Cornell’s surviving wife Vicky claims that Koblin had prescribed 940 doses of Lorazepam (aka Ativan) and more to Chris during the last 20 months of his life, which influenced the singer’s suicidal thoughts.
Koblin alleges that Cornell, who had a long history of drug and alcohol addiction, “was informed of the risks associated with the anti-anxiety medication he was taking.” In addition, he claimed that the late musician chose “not to be informed,” of the potential side-effects of the drugs.
The doctor also asserts that he is covered by a malpractice law that protects physicians during the death’s of certain patients. As a result of this law, Koblin is seeking to have this suit dismissed.
“If you add it all up, he was on these prescription drugs that should have never been prescribed. It caused a relapse … I think it was, unfortunately, the perfect storm, a combination of factors that made him go manic,” Vicky Cornell explained in 2017. “Had the medical examiner looked at all these factors, maybe they wouldn’t have concluded it was a suicide in just an hour and a half.”
In addition to his issues with substance abuse, Cornell has been opens with his struggles with mental health issues, such as depression and suicidal ideation. In past interviews the former musician spoke about both at length and how they had been persistent throughout his career.
“No one really knows what run-of-the-mill depression is. You’ll think somebody has run-of-the-mill depression, and then the next thing you know, they’re hanging from a rope,” Cornell explained in an interview with Guitar.com in 1999. “It’s hard to tell the difference. But I do feel that depression can be useful. Sometimes it’s just chemical. It doesn’t seem to come from anywhere.”
The singer entered rehab in 2002, and eventually quit smoking and drinking altogether in 2005. Despite stating that rehab personally helped him overcome his struggles with addiction, he stated that a large part of it wasn’t an easy solution.
As he explained in an interview with Angel Fire in 2007:
“Going through rehab, honestly, did help… it got me away from just the daily drudgery of depression and either trying to not drink or do drugs or doing them and you know, they give you such a simple message that any idiot can get and it’s just over and over, but the bottom line is really, and this is the part that is scary for everyone, the individual kinda has to want it… not kinda, you have to want it and to not do that crap anymore or you will never stop and it will just kill you.”
He further elaborated on the issues that loved ones may face as well:
“There’s nothing you can do…if your best friend has a problem and it’s very serious, there’s nothing you’re going to be able to do about it and it was sad for me and the people around me. Sad for me when friends of mine died because of it.”
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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