The family of late Slipknot bassist Paul Gray secured a settlement for the rocker’s 2010 death from a drug overdose, the Des Moines Register reports.
The Gray family sued pain relief specialist Dr. Daniel Baldi and his former employers, including the hospital company UnityPoint-Des Moines. The case was scheduled to go to trial in Polk County District Court, but was settled over the weekend. Baldi’s lawyer, Connie Diekema, declined to name the settlement amount, or name the parties that agreed to pay to settle the case.
The Gray family filed the lawsuit on behalf of their daughter, who was born three months after the bassist overdosed on an array of drugs, including Fentanyl and morphine. The suit alleged that Gray wasn’t properly monitored during his drug addiction treatment. Baldi had reportedly been treating Gray for years, both for pain issues and addiction.
Baldi denied he was at fault, and his attorney said that the doctor did not prescribe the drugs that caused Gray’s death.
In 2012, Baldi was charged with multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter related to the deaths of nine patients, including Gray. Prosecutors argued that Baldi had recklessly written prescriptions to patients who clearly struggled with drug abuse. Gray’s widow, Brenna Gray, testified at the trial, saying Baldi continued to prescribe Gray Xanax, even though he knew the musician had a history of abusing the drug. However, a jury acquitted Baldi, and in 2016 Iowa reinstated his license to practice medicine.
