North Carolina fans of the band 3 Doors Down might be aware that in November, a doctor faced indictment in the death of the band’s guitarist, Matt Roberts. In 2016, Roberts died of a drug overdose. The doctor had allegedly prescribed controlled substances in several different names with the knowledge that they would all be used by Roberts.
The estate of Roberts has now filed a lawsuit against the Alabama doctor because of his alleged responsibility for the guitarist’s death. Rite Aid is also named in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that a pharmacist at Rite Aid continued filling prescriptions for Roberts despite suspecting that he had a drug problem. It says that he was prescribed drugs for six years starting in 2012 and that the prescriptions continued to be written by the doctor and dispensed by the pharmacy even after Roberts attended drug rehab. The criminal indictment against the doctor says that the prescriptions were not written for a legitimate medical reason. The doctor’s attorney argues that it was misuse of drugs and not the doctor’s prescriptions that led to the musician’s death.
If a person has lost a loved one and believes another party is at fault because of negligence or other actions, it may be possible to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Adequate compensation in such a lawsuit might take into account the costs associated with the person’s death including lost income. This may be critical in cases in which the person had dependents. Since a wrongful death lawsuit is a civil suit, the burden of proof is lower than in a criminal case.
Source Blabbermouth, “Family Of Late 3 Doors Down Guitarist Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Doctor, Pharmacy“, Feb. 8, 2018