Chris Cornell's family have reached a settlement with a doctor who they accused of prescribing "dangerous" and "mind-altering" drugs to the rocker.
Chris Cornell
The Soundgarden rocker took his own life in 2017 and his relatives - wife Vicky and their children Toni, now 16, and 15-year-old Christopher - took legal action the following year against Dr. Robert Koblin, an internist and cardiologist, for allegedly over-prescribing the 'You Know My Name' hitmaker various medications without actually examining him, including an anti-anxiety treatment that was found in Chris' system after his death.
And now the legal case has been resolved, though the terms will remain confidential.
Lawyers acting for the Cornell family confirmed in documents filed in a Los Angeles Court last month and obtained by E! News this week: "After years of litigation and settlement negotiations, plaintiffs and (Koblin and Robertson Cardiovascular Center LLC ) have reached a confidential settlement agreement to resolve all claims asserted by each plaintiff.
"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."
The original lawsuit explained the family were suing the doctor for "negligently and repeatedly prescribing dangerous, mind-alerting controlled substances to Chris Cornell which impaired Mr. Cornell's cognition, clouded his judgment, and caused him to engage in dangerous impulsive behaviors that he was unable to control, costing him his life."
However, the doctor and his legal team insisted the prescriptions were apprioriate.
His lawyer said in a statement in 2018: "Dr. Koblin is a competent and conscientious doctor who enjoyed an excellent physician/patient relationship with Mr. Cornell and other members of his family.
"The experts I have consulted with believe Dr. Koblin's treatment was within the standard of care in this community and were not a substantial factor in causing Mr. Cornell to commit suicide."
The lawsuit had focused mainly on the prescribing of Lorazepam, which is also known by the brand name Ativan, and although it is given to treat anxiety, a warning from the FDA states it can result in "a possibility for suicide" for patients with depression and as such "should not be used in such patients without adequate antidepressant therapy."
The lawsuit stated: "During the last 20 months of his life until his death, Dr. Koblin directly and/or through his authorized agents or employees negligently prescribed more than 940 doses of Lorazepam to Chris Cornell.
"During that same period, he also prescribed various doses of Oxycodone. Yet, at no time during this period did Dr. Koblin conduct a medical examination of Mr. Cornell, perform any laboratory studies, obtain an interim history or do any type of clinical assessment of Mr. Cornell. He did not even physically see or speak to Mr. Cornell during this period.
"In someone with a risk of substance abuse and/or addictive disorder like Mr. Cornell, Lorazepam was known to 'increase the risk of suicide by severely impairing judgment and rational thinking and by lessening impulse control. Moreover, excessive ongoing, unmonitored use can lead to medical intoxication...and substantially enhance the risk of impulsive suicide.
"Despite this, Dr. Koblin failed to warn or counsel Mr. Cornell about the risk of suicidal ideation or any other known serious side effects of protracted Lorazepam use."
Although several prescription drugs, including Lorazepam, were found in the Audioslave singer's system when he died, they were ruled not to have "contributed to the cause of death", which was ruled to solely be suicide by hanging.
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