Nancy Benoit’s Family Sues Dr. Astin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Nancy Benoit’s parents, Maureen and Paul Toffoloni, have sued Dr. Phil Astin and “three unnamed drug distributors” for wrongful death. See http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/fayette/stories/2009/06/11/benoit_doctor_lawsuit.html.

According to the newspaper — I haven’t yet seen the court filing myself — the family seeks “financial damages to cover the ‘full value’ of the deceased lives, along with money for pain, suffering and expenses.”

The unnamed drug distributors would seem to be the key if there are any deep pockets here. I may be wrong, but my impression is that Astin himself, who is serving a ten-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to overprescribing to patients, is broke.

Irv Muchnick