A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Prince's family members has been quietly dismissed in recent months, suggesting family members have reached settlements with defendants including the Minnesota doctor who saw Prince in the weeks before his death and the Illinois hospital that treated him for an opioid overdose seven days before he died. Prince was 57 when he died of an accidental fentanyl overdose on April 21, , without leaving a will.
No one was criminally charged in his death and the source of the counterfeit pills that killed him remains unknown. Claims against Dr. Both sides agreed to the dismissals. Claims against Walgreens, which filled prescriptions for Prince, and Trinity Medical Center, the Illinois hospital where Prince was treated for an opioid overdose a week before he died, were also permanently dismissed in August by agreement. Attorneys in the case either declined comment or did not return messages to The Associated Press.
But the judge found no evidence that Kornfeld ever communicated with Prince or that a doctor-patient relationship was established. An autopsy found Prince overdosed on fentanyl. Authorities said it was likely Prince didn't know he was taking the synthetic opioid that is 50 times more powerful than heroin.
The bodyguard, Kirk Johnson, was deposed during the wrongful death litigation, but refused to answer nearly all of the questions, according to a transcript. Meanwhile, Prince's siblings are still waiting to learn how much his estate is worth. More recent filings suggest the estate and Internal Revenue Service have not yet agreed on its value. Protracted litigation isn't unusual for big estates, even when there is a will. The fight between pop superstar Michael Jackson's estate and the IRS over valuing his estate continues in federal tax court, even though he died in The lengthy proceedings are stretching some of the siblings' resources.
In recent months, one of Prince's sisters, Tyka Nelson, sold a portion of her share of the estate for an undisclosed amount to Primary Wave, a music publisher that also holds interests in the estates of Whitney Houston and other musicians.
