The Associated Press has picked up on the story of Former WWE World
Champion Chris Benoit's doctor being sued by the Toffoloni Family, parents of
Nancy Daus Sullivan Benoit, and grandparents of Daniel, both of whom were
murdered by Chris Benoit before he killed him over the weekend of June 24-26,
2007.
The AP reported the following:
The mother-in-law of wrestler Chris Benoit has filed a federal
lawsuit against the doctor who prescribed him steroids and other
drugs.
Benoit killed his wife and small son before committing suicide two
years ago, and the lawsuit blames the drugs prescribed by Dr. Phil Astin for the
deaths.
The suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Newnan, Ga.,
claims Astin should have monitored effects the drugs, including depressants and
pain-killers, had on Benoit’s behavior.
Maureen Toffoloni, Nancy Benoit’s mother and administrator of her
estate, also targets drug distributors identified only as X, Y, and Z. It asks
for recovery of funeral and other expenses as well as unspecified
damages.
Astin was sentenced to 10 years in prison May 12 for illegally
prescribing drugs to patients.
A 175-count indictment against Astin referred to the 19 patients only
by their initials. Federal prosecutors would not confirm that the initials CB
and NB referred to the Benoits, but Assistant U.S. Attorney John Horn, who
prosecuted Astin, said it had been established that both abused prescription
drugs and both were among Astin’s patients.
A federal investigation found Astin wrote prescriptions to addicts
without conducting physical exams and sometimes gave them as many as four
simultaneous prescriptions and “cocktails” of drugs such as Percocet, Oxycontin,
Vicodin and Adderall. Horn said it was likely there were far more patient
addicts than the 19 listed in the indictment.
In addition to the prison sentence, Astin has lost his medical
license and practice and was represented by a public defender in the criminal
case. It is unclear what damages he would be able to pay.
Toffoloni’s lawyer, Richard Paul Decker of Atlanta, could not be
reached immediately for comment Thursday.
Benoit, a wrestler for Stamford, Conn.-based World Wrestling
Entertainment, his wife and son were found dead in June 2007 in their suburban
Atlanta home. Police said Benoit strangled the two and then hanged himself. A
medical examiner couldn’t say whether the steroids Astin prescribed for Benoit
played a role in the deaths.
