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The Nelson Family also names the doctor's former employer, North Memorial Health, and Walgreens Co. in the suit.
The family of Prince Rogers Nelson filed a lawsuit against the icon's doctor in Minnesota district court Friday morning. Per ABC News, the Nelson Family named physician Michael T. Schulenberg, North Memorial Health (Schulenberg's former employer,) and Walgreens, as defendants in the wrongful death of Prince, who died of a fentanyl overdose on April 21, 2016.
According to files obtained by ABC, the suit alleges Schulenberg saw Prince twice in the days ahead of his death, and that the doctor "failed to appropriately evaluate, diagnose, treat and counsel Prince for his recognizable opioid addiction, and further failed to take appropriate and reasonable steps to prevent the foreseeably fatal result of that addiction."
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Through their investigation, prosecutors discovered that Prince purchased on the black market what he'd believed was prescription opioid medication like Vicodin, which revealed to be fentanyl. The suit also names UnityPoint Health, owner of Trinity Medical Center in Illinois, where Prince was treated for an overdose after an emergency plane landing on April 15, 2016, for "negligence in providing inadequate [sic] professional health services to Prince."
In a statement to ABC News, Schulenberg's attorney, Paul Peterson, explained: "Dr. Schulenberg stands behind the care that Mr. Nelson received. We intend to defend this case."
