Michael Jackson Medical
Lawyers review on what roll Michael Jackson’s Cardiologist played in the circumstances that lead to the death of the King of Pop. Could Michael Jackson have Killed himself?
“Above all, do no harm”. We all know that is the primary precept of the Hippocratic Oath, the oath that a physician takes when he obtains his license—each physician pledges to ethically practice medicine. But what responsibility does a patient have in doing no harm to one’s self?
I, like many others count myself as the world’s biggest Michael Jackson fan. I grew up with MJ, have every album, know every word to every song, and was absolutely devastated by his death. I remember when I first heard that MJ died, I could not believe it. I turned frantically to the internet, Facebook, Twitter, and even hijacked a neighbor’s television at a cabana as I lay poolside, combing every media outlet in a frenetic search for someone to tell me that this was a cruel hoax. My childhood icon could not be dead at 50. As the minutes rolled by, as TMZ first reported, and as eventually confirmed by the mainstream media outlets, the King of Pop, was in fact, dead.
For the next few weeks, I, like the rest of the world, remained glued to my television as I watched the circus unfold. I sat stunned as the media reports began to swirl that our legendary cultural icon Michael Jackson, like so many other famous Hollywood icons over the years, was reportedly addicted to prescription medications. “Say it ain’t so”, I thought to myself. How could this be? Sure he was frail, but he could moonwalk. Sure his appearance morphed over the years, but who cared; he continued to thrill us all every time we heard his music on the radio. If we were at a party, the dance floor lit up. He was the King of Pop, for God’s sake. He never displayed any real evidence of a drug addict; this was no Anna Nicole Smith.
I remember watching the press conference for the “This is It” Tour. MiJac looked so vibrant and ecstatic; I was excited for him and for me; I was going to somehow, someway, score tickets to this monumental event that, alas, would never happen.
In May, Michael Jackson hired Dr. Conrad Murray as his personal physician. While one will never really know what transpired between them that eventually led MJ to hire Dr. Murray, we do know 2 things for certain: 1) Michael met Dr. Murray a few years prior when he treated his daughter Paris in Las Vegas, and 2) it was clear that the opportunity to travel with MJ on his comeback tour, was the chance of a lifetime. Dr. Murray was not AEG’s first choice as a physician for MJ. Who was this guy? What were his credentials? And why would the King of Pop need a cardiologist, as opposed to an internist, as his personal physician? As the world anxiously awaits the results of the toxicology reports, the answers continue to unfold before us.
By Dr. Murray’s own eventual admission, he administered propofol to Michael Jackson the night before he died. Propofol, also known as Milk of Amnesia, is a powerful anesthesia rarely used outside of the operating room. Seconds after it is administered intravenously, your heart stops. You are not in a deep sleep, quite the contrary; you are in fact, clinically dead. We also know that the police found hundreds of bottles of prescription drugs, oxygen tanks, heart monitors, an IV drip—the makings of a virtual operating room ensconced within Michael Jackson’s own bedroom.
How does such egregious behavior fit within the Hippocratic Oath? In fact, it does not, but seems to fit squarely within the confines of involuntary manslaughter under California law. Pursuant to the California Penal Code, section 192(b) involuntary manslaughter is defined as, " the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to felony; or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection". It is clear, at least in my opinion, that Dr. Murray failed to exercise due caution and circumspection by administering such a powerful medication outside the operating room. It is also clear, that propofol should never be used as a sleep aid. It does not induce sleep, it stops the heart. Instead of waking refreshed and rejuvenated, often times, patients wake up feeling groggy and disoriented. But if a patient insists, the concierge doctor, in spite of the oath to do no harm, often agrees. There is an implicit understanding between the doctor and the patient, that this is what the doctor is being paid to do, and Hippocratic Oath be damned. If you, Mr. Concierge Doc, will not, I will pay someone else to do this for me.
But what is the patient’s culpability in all of this? Every doctor seems to agree on one thing: taking such a powerful drug on a regular basis is tantamount to playing Russian Roulette. That fact notwithstanding, Michael Jackson was no dummy. The King of Pop, by all accounts was a very astute business man. He purchased the rights to become a co-owner of the Sony ATV catalogue, which contained, among other things, all the music publishing rights to the songs in the Beatles music publishing catalogue. At the time of his death, this catalogue owned roughly 500,000 songs, with an estimated net worth of $1 billion. He established a joint venture with Colony Capital to rescue Neverland from foreclosure, and inked a 50 show comeback tour deal with Philip Anschutz’s ATV.
Michael Jackson was just as savvy in his personal life. He wanted kids and he made that happen; by all accounts arranging a marriage with a woman who he knew would serve as his surrogate. After 2 kids, he arranged a “divorce” in which Debbie Rowe relinquished all parental rights and granted him full and complete custody of the 2 kids from the marriage. Following that, he found a silent and still unknown surrogate to bear him a third child. In spite of MJ’s business acumen and personal astuteness, it is well documented that he was a tortured soul, and that portion of his soul appears to have overridden any and all rational sensibility.
Apparently Michael Jackson’s addiction to prescription drugs stemmed from his horrific accident that occurred while he was filming the now infamous Pepsi commercial. He was keenly aware of this addiction and sought treatment shortly after recovering from his myriad of surgeries. By many indications, prescription drugs have a vice-like hold and you repeatedly fall into the cyclical vortex of addiction that is intensified by your increased tolerance to whatever it was that you were once taking. If you are continuously taking Ambien for a sleep disorder, your tolerance may increase and you step up to Percoset, then to Oxycontin, and then, well, you get the picture: this addiction becomes a vicious cycle that may eventually kill you.
If you speak to most parents they will tell you that once you become a parent, your life changes and you live for your children. There seems to be no dispute that MiJac was a fantastic father, but his addiction overrode his sensibility to do what was right and in the best interest of his children. By all accounts, Michael intended to wake up, rehearse and spend time with his children. But by failing to exercise due caution and heed the advice of the many medical professionals who allegedly repeatedly warned him of the hazards of his cocktail of prescription drugs while begging for propofol, that, in my opinion, is tantamount to suicide. I am by no means discounting Dr. Murray’s role in medical catastrophe, but undoubtedly, the patient is at all times, responsible for that administration.
Michael, from your number one fan, you will be missed. May your death not be in vain but serve as a stern warning to all, that, in the words of William Ernest Henley, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
The author of this article, Lisa Bonner, is the President of Bonner Law, PC, a boutique entertainment law firm based in New York and Los Angeles.
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