DR. CONRAD Murrey, Michael Jackson’s doctor who prescribed medication to Michael to help him sleep but instead resulted in Michael’s death may be criminally charged with involuntary manslaughter. Moreover, Michael’s family will certainly file a lawsuit against Dr. Murrey for civil damages for wrongful death.
The doctor was obviously ecstatic when Michael hired him to be his personal physician to ensure that Michael’s health would be good enough for the 50 concerts that he signed up for in Europe last year. Aside from having the "King of Pop" as a patient, Dr. Murrey was being paid $150,000 a month for his medical services.
But instead of making a small fortune for medical services provided to Michael, the doctor appears to be the cause of Michael’s death. Apparently, Dr. Murrey first prescribed 2 sleeping pills to Michael who could not sleep. When those 2 pills did not work, and in response to Michael’s repeated request for the doctor to give him his "milk" so he could sleep, Dr. Murrey gave Michael an anesthetic used in surgery delivered intravenously which immediately caused Michael to go to sleep. Unfortunately, Michael comatosed and his heart stopped.
Right after Michael died; several doctors said that it was the combination of the 2 sleeping pills with the intravenous anesthetic that killed Michael. If this was the case, Michael’s death was certainly a homicide, death caused by someone else other than the decedent. Then, Michael’s family said that Michael should not have died and that it was the doctor’s fault. It only took 2 months to transform the doctor’s dream job into his worst nightmare. Indeed, his dream job taking care of Michael may now result in the loss of his medical license and even send him to prison. The best laid plans of mice and men are nothing before the Lord. Unless the plan is in line with the Lord’s will and blessed by Him, it will go awry. Bad things will happen.
Will a bankruptcy stop the anticipated criminal charge of involuntary manslaughter? N0. Bankruptcy does not stop criminal proceedings. However, the debt component of the conviction, if there is one, may possibly be dischargeable. But bankruptcy courts have no power to stop a criminal action from proceeding. How about the civil lawsuit for wrongful death? Again, the answer is NO. A wrongful death action is based on a willful tort action. Damages caused by a willful tort are not discharged in bankruptcy. Therefore, bankruptcy will not give Dr. Murrey a fresh start. This is the same problem that O.J. Simpson had. After he was acquitted, Nicole’s parents obtained a $33 million wrongful death civil judgment against Simpson despite the fact that O.J. filed for bankruptcy in Florida.
Thus, even bankruptcy will not end some problems. However, bankruptcy will wipe out most debts and liabilities. Bankruptcy law states that bankruptcy discharge wipes out all debts and liabilities, unless they are specifically excepted from discharge by law. What are excepted from discharge? Student loans, income taxes that are less than 3 years old, damages willfully caused, & loans obtained by fraud by debtor are not dischargeable.
If your problem is too much debt, seriously consider a Chapter 7 petition to wipe out debt and have a fresh start in life to become productive again. If you have defaulted on your mortgage but want to keep your house, consider a Chapter 13 petition. Chapter 13 will allow you 3 years to pay off the default portion while forcing creditor to stop foreclosure. In addition, Chapter 13 will allow you to strip or cancel your second trust deed and convert it into unsecured debt. Home equity loans are normally second trust deeds. You can get rid of them in a Chapter 13 provided there is no equity supporting the 2nd trust deed. This is done by motion or adversarial complaint depending on who the judge is. Take advantage of bankruptcy law if you qualify.
If you need debt relief, contact my office. I will analyze your case personally.
***
Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Bldg. A-1 Suite 1125 Unit 58, Alhambra, CA 91803.
( Publsihed February 6, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. C5 )
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
