Six of singer-songwriter Prince's heirs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Moline, Ill.-based UnityPoint Health Trinity Medical Center and Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens April 20 — one day before the state's two-year deadline to submit such claims, according to the Star Tribune.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Cook County Circuit Court and made public April 23, states Nicole F. Mancha, MD, and an unidentified pharmacist or pharmacy employee at the Illinois hospital "failed to timely and appropriately investigate the cause of opiate overdose" during Prince's April 15, 2016 visit, which may have prevented his accidental fatal overdose six days later, according to the report, The New York Times reports.
The lawsuit comes days after Minnesota officials revealed no charges would be filed in the case.
Upon the case's conclusion, Minnesota officials released investigative records of Prince's trip to the Illinois hospital. The records indicated Prince declined medical treatment and additional testing. Hospital officials reportedly inspected additional pills Prince had with him and determined them to be prescription Vicodin. Investigators conducted an autopsy and later determined those pills were counterfeits and contained hazardous levels of fentanyl, according to the Star Tribune.
Investigators concluded Prince did not know the pills contained fentanyl.
Walgreens was also named in the lawsuit for "dispensing narcotic prescription medications" to the singer for an invalid medical purpose and for failing to conduct the appropriate drug utilization review, according to The New York Times.
A spokesperson for the hospital's parent company, West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health, said in a statement to the Star Tribune April 23 that the health system was "unable to comment on pending legal matters."
To access the Star Tribune report, click here.