Chris Cornell’s Widow Files Lawsuit Against Late Singer’s Doctor for Overprescribing Him

The widow of late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has filed a lawsuit against his doctor, alleging that he overprescribed him medication.

Vicky Cornell is suing Dr. Robert Koblin for malpractice, alleging he negligently prescribed the late singer with the anti-anxiety medication lorazepam, as well as other medications, from September 2015 until his death in 2017, according to the Associated Press and as reported by The Blast.

Cornell had been referred to Dr. Koblin by his therapist for his substance abuse in 2004 and during the final 20 months of his life. The lawsuit claims Koblin prescribed 940 doses of Lorazepam, also known as Ativan, along with Oxycodone. In documents obtained by TMZ, Vicky also claims Koblin permitted “non-physician staff to write hundreds of Lorazepam prescriptions.”

Despite being a known “addiction-prone individual,” the suit claims that Koblin neglected to warn Cornell of the dangers of the medications he was prescribed and also failed to examine the singer or perform lab tests to determine if he was in danger or misusing the medication.

The suit also claims that Lorazepam “increases the risk of suicide in addiction-prone individuals by impairing judgment and rational thinking.”

Cornell passed away in May of 2017 at the age of 52. He was found dead inside his room at the MGM Grand Hotel in Detroit by his bodyguard. His death was later ruled a suicide by local police.

“Your patience, empathy and love always showed through. You had always said I saved you, that you wouldn’t be alive if it were not for me. My heart gleamed to see you happy, living and motivated. Excited for life. Doing everything you could to give back,” Vicky wrote in a letter shared ahead of Cornell’s funeral. “We had the time of our lives in the last decade and I’m sorry, my sweet love, that I did not see what happened to you that night. I’m sorry you were alone, and I know that was not you, my sweet Christopher. Your children know that too, so you can rest in peace.”

“I will think of you every minute of every day and I will fight for you,” she continued. “You were right when you said we are soulmates. It has been said that paths that have crossed will cross again, and I know that you will come find me, and I will be here waiting.”

Following his death, Vicky has been fighting to end the stigma surrounding addiction, saying in her first interview following his death that “you think addiction is a choice, and it’s not.”

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