Chris Cornell’s Family Settled Their Lawsuit Against His Former Doctor

After the tragic death of Chris Cornell in 2017, his family issued a lawsuit against his doctor the following year, alleging that Dr. Robert Koblin “negligently and repeatedly prescribed[ed] dangerous mind-altering controlled substances… which impaired [his] cognition, clouded his judgment and caused him to engage in dangerous impulsive behaviors that he was unable to control, costing him his life.”

Cornell took his own life after a Soundgarden concert in Detroit, and the suit alleged that he was prescribed medications like Ativan and Oxycodone, which were dangerous for an “addiction-prone individual” like Cornell, who had been sober since 2002, aside from a relapse with benzodiazepines in 2016. According to the suit, Dr. Koblin wrote prescriptions for similar drugs knowing that his history of addiction made the prescriptions dangerous for Cornell. Though the coroner’s investigation into Cornell’s death ruled it a suicide by hanging, even if traces of Ativan were found in his system.

But the lawsuit has now been settled, according to AP News. The documents for a confidential agreement were filed back in April, and were first reported when City News Service covered them on Thursday. The Cornell family attorneys said in the April 2 filing documents that “after years of litigation and settlement negotiations, Plaintiffs and Defendants … have reached a confidential settlement agreement to resolve all claims.”

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