Case Against Doctor of Slipknot’s Paul Gray to Go Before Iowa Supreme Court

In 2010, Slipknot bassist Paul Gray died of an accidental overdose on morphine and fentanyl, two very powerful painkillers. His doctor, Dr. Daniel Baldi, was charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly prescribing painkillers to at-risk patients who didn’t really need them, but was later acquitted of these charges. Meanwhile, Paul’s widow, Brenna Gray, filed a wrongful death suit in 2014, but it was dismissed due to a law in Iowa that says such a suit must be filed within two years of the death of the individual in question.

However, it looks like Gray’s case isn’t quite over. The Des Moines Register claims it will now go before Iowa Supreme Court tomorrow, and could change the time limit that a deceased person’s estate has for filing a wrongful death suit.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out. If Gray’s estate wins, it would mean that Iowa families who only determine wrongful death down the line would have a chance to see justice served. But it would also strip doctors of the assurance that after a period of time they’d be safe from such suits, as well as open up a long history of medical records for review. Obviously, those defending Baldi would argue that changing the time limits would open up a huge can of worms for every doctor in Iowa.

The Iowa Supreme Court will consider the case at the Iowa Judicial Branch Building at 7pm tomorrow, during special evening oral arguments. They’ll be open to the public if you want to come and witness to proceedings unfold.