According to reports from Deadline and Blabbermouth.net, the family of late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell’s widow Vicky Cornell, his children that are minors, and his doctor have reached a confidential settlement in a lawsuit in which she accused the physician of over-prescribing drugs that eventually caused the singer to commit suicide.
“After years of litigation and settlement negotiations, plaintiffs and (Dr. Robert Koblin and Robertson Cardiovascular Center LLC) have reached a confidential settlement agreement to resolve all claims asserted by each plaintiff,” the Cornell family’s attorneys state in court papers filed April 2. “Unfortunately, as with many celebrity cases, this action has also attracted the attention of troubled individuals who have harassed plaintiffs, including by threatening the life and safety of plaintiffs Toni Cornell and Christopher Nicholas Cornell.”
In Vicky’s original lawsuit, she claimed Dr. Robert Koblin prescribed 940 doses of the anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam (a.k.a. Ativan) as well as Oxycodone during the last 20 months of his life, without even examining the SOUNDGARDEN frontman, performing lab studies or doing anything else to determine if Chris was in danger. The lawsuit alleged the doctor took no steps to protect Chris even though Koblin knew the musician was an “addiction-prone individual.”
According to the lawsuit, Koblin never warned Chris about the dangers of suicide or other side effects of long-term Lorazepam use.
The “unmonitored use of such excessive amounts of Lorazepam … was known to increase the risk of suicide because it can severely impair judgment, thinking and impulse control and diminish the ability of a patient to think and act rationally,” the lawsuit said.
“At the time of his death, Mr. Cornell had everything to live for and was planning a future of recordings, performances and continued work as a charitable activist,” the lawsuit added.
Vicky and her two children were suing for unspecified damages.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys need court approval of the part of the settlement involving the Cornell children because those plaintiffs are minors. A hearing is scheduled July 26 before Judge Michael E. Whitaker.
In February 2019, Koblin responded to the lawsuit, saying Cornell was “well aware” of the risks with taking the anti-anxiety meds, and arguing he was covered by a malpractice law that protected doctors when a death occured as result of a patient’s ongoing disease or condition. The doctor also claimed Cornell asked “not to be informed” of all the risks associated with taking anti-anxiety medication, and that he did everything in his professional capacity to help the singer.
Chris was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of May 18, 2017 after being found unresponsive in his Detroit hotel room after a show the previous evening. The 52-year-old had sedatives and an anxiety drug in his system but died by hanging himself. According to the medical examiner, the drugs didn’t contribute to the cause of death.