An Iowa doctor who helped run a pain clinic has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Paul Gray, the Slipknot bassist and co-founder who died of an overdose of narcotics in May 2010, The Des Moines Register reported.
The doctor, Daniel Baldi, also faces manslaughter charges in the deaths of seven other patients, according to court papers filed in Iowa's Polk County district court. Mr. Gray was found dead in a hotel room in Johnston, Iowa, north of Des Moines, in May 2010. An autopsy showed he had fatal levels of morphine and a morphine substitute called fentanyl in his blood. He was 38 years old.
Dr. Baldi is accused of writing prescriptions for Mr. Gra y that included high doses of narcotics, beginning in late 2005, even though he was aware that the musician was addicted to the drugs, the charging documents said.
Dr. Baldi pleaded not guilty to all charges. His defense lawyer, Guy Cook, told reporters it was highly unusual for prosecutors to charge a doctor with manslaughter when drug-addicted patients overdose. “Unexpected deaths can occur in severe-chronic-pain patients unrelated to medical treatment,†Mr. Cook said. “This is especially true with patients who are drug addicts or drug abusers.â€
Dr. Baldi, who worked at a pain clinic run by Iowa Health System, has been sued four times for medical malpractice, including three wrongful death suits, The Register reported.  Those three deaths are among the eight cited in the criminal complaint.
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