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Jackson Senior files wrongful death lawsuit against doc

By | Published on Monday 28 June 2010

As expected, Michael Jackson’s father Joe has sued Conrad Murray for wrongful death in relation to the medic’s treatment of his son, and the allegations the doc was negligent to administer the shot of propofol that killed the late king of pop.

Jackson Senior has been preparing his litigation for a while now, but actually filed his legal papers with the LA courts last week, perhaps aware the news media would be hungry for Jacko-related stories as the first anniversary of his death came around, thus ensuring his action got the biggest possible coverage.

According to reports, the lawsuit accuses Murray, who also faces criminal charges in relation to his treatment of Jacko, of poor training, professional negligence and unwarranted secrecy. The latter accusation relates to claims Murray tried to hide the fact he had given Jacko the propofol shot in the hours and days after the singer’s death, possibly aware that administering such a strong drug in a domestic environment as a cure for insomnia was highly unusual.

Interestingly, Joe Jackson’s estranged wife Katherine and Jacko’s three children are also listed as ‘nominal plaintiffs’ on the lawsuit, despite it being widely known the Jackson patriarch’s litigation isn’t backed by any other members of the family. Katherine Jackson’s lawyer confirmed to TMZ on Friday she was not formally linked to the lawsuit in anyway, saying: “Mrs Jackson has no interest in Conrad Murray other than seeing that justice is done in the criminal courts. She certainly would never tap [Joe Jackson’s lawyer] Brian Oxman for the job of filing any kind of lawsuit for her or the kids”.

Murray, of course, is pleading not guilty to the criminal charges against him, claiming there was nothing about the drugs he gave Jacko, nor the way he administered them, that should have caused the singer’s death, even if did. The medic’s legal people confirmed on Friday that they would fight Joe Jackson’s lawsuit, with the lawyer specifically looking after the case, Charles Peckham, telling reporters: “We believe Dr Murray’s innocence will be proved”.

Elsewhere in Jacko news, Randy Jackson has hit out at a charity set up to fund a Jackson family museum in their home town of Gary, Indiana, and at a fund-raiser they hosted this weekend on the first anniversary of his brother’s death. Joe Jackson is seemingly involved in the foundation and Katherine Jackson is listed as its Vice-Chair, but Randy says he suspects the whole operation is a fraud. The so called Jackson Family Foundation held a tribute evening called ‘Forever Michael’ in LA on Saturday.

Writing on Twitter, he said this weekend: “Let me be clear, there’s no legitimate ‘Jackson Family Foundation’ that my brothers & sisters are aware of. As far as I am concerned, tonight’s event is a fraud. I know my parents would not be involved if they really knew the characters they have aligned themselves with… I am doing my best to get my parents to understand who the people are around them”.

He continued: “How can you raise money for a foundation that has not been legally formed? It is disrespectful to this family & an insult [to] the public & fans. I am sick of people trying to exploit & take advantage of my parents and then letting our family take the blame. I don’t mean to be negative all the time but please understand my bro shouldn’t be dead & I get protective when people try 2 exploit us, esp now”.

There is, of course, a lot of money to be made out of the Michael Jackson legacy, as figures circulating last week relating to deals done by the Jacko estate demonstrated. Meanwhile, this weekend at an auction staged in Las Vegas by Julien’s Auctions, a crystal-studded glove that was worn by Jackson during his 1984 Victory tour was sold for $190,000.

The glove was the biggest sale of the night, though a lot of other Jacko tat – or “exclusive memorabilia” – went for big money, most of it considerably more than expected. As Darren Julien told the Las Vegas Review Journal: “It just shows you Michael Jackson is the most sought after and most collectible celebrity of all time. It was just phenomenal. People flew in from Asia, Russia, all over. Now that he’s gone, we now realise the true legend we lost”.



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