The survivors of Paul Gray, bassist for Slipknot who died of an overdose in 2010, have received a settlement from healthcare providers they claim caused his addiction.
Gray, 38, died at a hotel in Urbandale, Iowa, from an overdose of fentanyl and morphine, among other drugs. His family balned the death on Dr. Daniel Baldi, a pain releif specialist who treated Gray for a number of ailments, including drug addiction, according to the Des Moines Register.
The Gray family sued Baldi and his former employers including the hospital now known as UnityPoint Des Moines. The lawsuit was scheduled to go to court Jan. 22 but was settled over the weekend, Baldi’s attorney told the paper. Baldi’s attorneys deny that the doctor was at fault for Gray’s death, noting he did not prescribe the drugs that caused Gray’s death.
Polk County prosecutors charged Baldi with 10 criminal counts of involuntary manslaughter, drawing national attention, including that he caused multiple deaths, including that of Gray’s, by “recklessly” prescribing large doses of addictive pills, according to the paper. Despite facing a prison sentence, Baldi was acquitted by a jury in 2014. State regulators reinstated Baldi’s license in 2016 and he is currently working as an anesthesiologist in Des Moines.
“Dan Baldi did not deserve what he went through. I’m glad it’s behind us,” Diekema told the Des Moines Register. She declined to say which of the parties agreed to settle or how much money was involved.
Brenna Gray, Paul’s wife, testified at Baldi’s 2014 trial that the doctor continued to prescribe Xanax to Gray even though he knew of her husband’s history with addiction, but Baldi’s attorney noted that the doctor was tapering off the Xanax.
“I just knew it was his drug of choice, that he’d struggled with it. So I just wasn’t really sure why he was on it, why he needed it along with the medication he was taking for addiction,” she testified, according to the paper.
“You understand, do you not, ma’am, that if Paul got the morphine and the fentanyl on the street somewhere, that it’s nobody’s fault except Mr. Gray or the person he got it from?” attorney Guy Cook asked.
“I don’t know where he got them,” she replied. “It’s a hypothetical question. It’s not fair.”
Calls to Brenna Gray’s attorney were not returned at press time, according to the paper, and a UnityPoint representative declined comment.
