Celebs Who Perished Under The Care Of Shady Doctors

Wealthy and connected celebrities have access to the best healthcare in the world, but that
doesn't make them immune from being placed under the care of shady, under- or un- qualified
doctors and nurses that may put their lives at risk.
Here are a few celebs who perished while being treated by some questionable medical professionals.
Michael Jackson
Dr. Conrad Murray's alleged shadiness while caring for his pop star patient, Michael Jackson,
who perished in his care on June 25, 2009, has made Murray's name shorthand for extreme medical
negligence.
Jackson's autopsy says he perished due to accidental "acute propofol intoxication," but also notes
it was "intravenous injection by another" — a key claim that Murray denied in his
trial for involuntary manslaughter.
Propofol is "a hypnotic drug used for general anesthesia" that Jackson incorrectly and dangerously
used to help himself sleep.
Murray claimed he had successfully weaned Jackson off of the drug, but on the day of
his passing, Murray relented and gave him a dose he called "inconsequential."
He then left the room for around two minutes to make a phone call — that's when Jackson
stopped breathing and never recovered.
"He left him there, abandoned him, to fend for himself."
Murray's lawyers suggested Jackson administered himself an extra, lethal dose during that
time, but jurors didn't buy that theory, nor did they understand why it took 20 minutes
before Jackson's bodyguard called 911, or why Murray told paramedics about other drugs
Jackson was on, but failed to mention the propofol he gave him.
During Murray's trial, the jury learned that an addicted Jackson had asked other doctors
for the potentially dangerous drug, but they refused.
One juror summed up the reason for Murray's guilty verdict this way: "He was looking for
somebody to say yes.
And Conrad Murray said yes."
Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and ultimately served two years of his four
year sentence.
Bernie Mac
Comedian and actor Bernie Mac suffered for years from an inflammatory lung disease called
sarcoidosis, and developed a lung infection in 2008 which led to a deadly bout of pneumonia.
Three weeks before his death, Mac sought treatment from his dermatologist, Dr. Rene Earles, for
the skin lesions caused by his sarcoidosis.
The comedian began showing signs of medical distress while under Earles' care, including
"unstable vital signs and both rapid heart rate and breathing," according to his widow.
Earles said that he gave Mac oxygen, as well as a medication to counteract a drug that
another doctor had given him, because he believed it to be the source of Mac's distress.
He kept Mac at his clinic in this state for nine hours.
Upon learning from Mac's doctor over the phone that he had been diagnosed with pneumonia
in both lungs, Earles instructed Mac's driver to take him directly to the hospital, but
he did not call 911.
Mac's widow later filed a wrongful death suit against Earles, suggesting that if he had
gotten Mac to a hospital sooner, he would have ultimately survived.
Prince
Legendary singer and guitarist Prince was found dead in his Minnesota home on April
21, 2016, as a result of an overdose of fentanyl, an opioid "100 times more powerful than morphine."
Documents relating to his death inquiry revealed that the singer — an opioid addict — had
multiple prescription drugs hidden in discreet containers all over his house, although none
of them were actually prescribed to him.
Court documents say Dr. Michael Schulenberg admitted to a detective that he wrote an opioid
prescription under the name of Prince's "drummer and longtime friend, Kirk Johnson," for "privacy
purposes" — definitely a shady move, if true — but then his lawyer later issued
a contradictory statement claiming the admission wasn't true.
Schulenberg treated Prince the day before his death and two weeks prior, and prescribed
non-opioid medications for the singer.
Police don't know where Prince got the shady fentanyl that ultimately killed him, as well
as many of the other prescription meds he had hoarded around his home, but their investigation
is ongoing.
Schulenberg continues to cooperate with the investigation and is adamant about his innocence.
Elvis Presley
Like Dr. Conrad Murray, Dr. George Nichopoulos became a villainous figure to some after the
death of Elvis Presley, who Nichopoulos had prescribed thousands of doses of various drugs
during the last few years the legendary singer was alive.
In 1981, "Dr. Nick" had his medical license suspended and went on trial, charged with
a litany of offenses.
" … unprofessional conduct, gross incompetence, gross ignorance, gross negligence, and gross
malpractice concerning his dispensing of narcotic substances."
The beloved icon died with more than a dozen different drugs in his system.
The pathologist thought the combination was lethal, but the medical examiner determined
that "the drugs were not in concentrations high enough to lead to death," and that Elvis
had died of "cardiac arrhythmia, caused by heart disease and hypertension."
The script-happy doc was acquitted on all charges.
Lisa Robin Kelly
On August 15, 2013, That 70s Show actress Lisa Robin Kelly died in her sleep in a rehab
facility she checked into three days earlier.
Her death certificate indicated that she died of "multiple drug intoxication."
Though investigators ruled out foul play, a law enforcement source told the New York
Daily News that the coroner's office wasn't contacted by the rehab facility — they found
out about Kelly's death from media reports.
Another law enforcement source says a doctor at the rehab facility attempted to sign Kelly's
death certificate and label an embolism as the cause without an autopsy.
Not surprisingly, Kelly's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the facility.
The suit was quietly settled and the terms were undisclosed.
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Celebs Who Perished Under The Care Of Shady Doctors

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