Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Prince's Family Sues Hospital, Walgreens Pharmacy Over Performer's Death From Fentanyl Overdose
The New York Times: Prince Heirs Sue Illinois Hospital, Walgreens Pharmacy Chain Over Singer's Death
Heirs of Prince have sued an Illinois hospital and pharmacy chain Walgreens, saying they could have prevented the singer's 2016 death if they had properly diagnosed and treated his overdose days earlier, a court document showed on Monday. The wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago on Friday, accuses a doctor and pharmacist at Trinity Medical Center in Rock Island, Illinois, of failing to properly investigate the overdose or see that the pop star received appropriate counseling. (Whitcomb and Herskovitz, 4/24)
The Star Tribune: Prince Family Sues Illinois Hospital, Walgreens Chain
The suit questions the roles of a doctor and pharmacist at the hospital on April 15, 2016, when Prince suffered an overdose on a flight home from a concert in Atlanta and needed emergency medical attention. Prince died April 21, six days later, from a second overdose in his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen. Pharmacy chain Walgreens also is named in the suit because it dispensed opioid medications in the name of Prince's longtime friend and Paisley Park manager Kirk Johnson that actually were meant for Prince. (Olson and Browning, 4/23)
