Prince Family’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Minnesota Doctor and Illinois Hospital Dismissed

In the recent months, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of late American singer and songwriter, Prince, has been dismissed. The dismissal of this case suggests the family members of the late musician have reached settlements with the Minnesota doctor who oversaw Prince weeks before his death and the Illinois hospital where he was admitted for an opioid overdose seven days before his death.

The lawsuit was originally filed in April 2018 by Prince’s family, alleging that the defendants failed to prevent his death. In May 2018, Prince’s family also sued Walgreens for dispensing narcotics to Prince for allegedly invalid reasons, alleging that the pharmacy failed to do due diligence and perform proper drug utilization review.

By the summer of 2018, defendants were slowly getting dismissed from the case and by August 2018, the claims against Walgreens have been dismissed, followed by the claims against Dr. Michael.

After the Walgreens dismissal, Prince’s family mentioned they were going to pursue and move forward with the new lawsuit in Minnesota. The family’s attorney, John Goetz, mentioned in a statement that the family believed the lawsuit always belonged in Minnesota, as Prince lived in Minnesota all of his life.

Prince was found dead on Apr. 21, 2016, at the age of 57, at his Paisley Park estate, in Chanhassen, Minnesota. At the time of his death, the cause was unknown, but in Jun. 2016, the Midwest Medical Examiners Office declared he died of an opioid overdose.

Prince’s siblings are currently waiting for proper valuation for his estate. His sister, Tyka Nelson, and his late brother, Alfred Jackson, have entered an agreement with Primary Wave, selling a portion of their share of the estate for an undisclosed amount.

Susan Link, a Minneapolis estate attorney, has mentioned disagreements between the siblings have caused stalled resolutions. It is currently unknown when the siblings will settle the legal issues regarding his estate. Information from this story is credited to the Associated Press.