Nearly three years after Aaron Carter's death in California, his family's wrongful death case has taken a quiet but significant turn: a psychiatrist and treatment clinic have agreed to settle their part of the lawsuit, even as they continue to argue that compressed air canisters – not prescription drugs – caused the singer's fatal collapse.
Carter, 34, was found dead at his home in November 2022. A coroner later ruled his death an accident, citing the combined effects of difluoroethane – a gas used in compressed air products – and alprazolam, the generic form of Xanax. His relatives responded by filing a wrongful death suit on behalf of his four‑year‑old son, accusing his medical providers of negligence and overprescribing in the months before he died.
According to court filings, Amen Clinics and psychiatrist Dr John Faber have now agreed to pay a confidential sum to resolve the claims against them. The deal settles allegations that Carter was overprescribed Xanax in the lead‑up to his death, but it stops well short of any admission that the clinic or doctor did anything wrong. The paperwork makes clear the case is being closed without a trial.
The amount being paid has not been made public. Filings suggest it is in the same rough range as what the family might have hoped to recover at trial, reportedly under $325,000. In legal language, it is described as a compromise figure – essentially the price of walking away from a risky and expensive jury process, rather than a formal confession of fault.
On the key question of how Aaron Carter died, the defendants have not budged. Their lawyers argue that his death was driven by difluoroethane, the gas identified in the Los Angeles County coroner's report, rather than by any properly prescribed medication. In their responses, they insist that any Xanax‑type drugs were given within accepted medical standards, and that Carter's alleged inhalant use was an intervening act that broke the chain of causation.
The settlement comes after months of legal back‑and‑forth over what Carter's doctors knew and how they responded. In their complaint, his relatives accused Amen Clinics and Dr Faber of failing to treat a vulnerable patient safely. They alleged that Carter was given powerful anti‑anxiety medication despite a history of addiction and instability, and that closer monitoring or different approaches should have been used.
The defence, for its part, has pushed back at every stage. In filings, lawyers for the clinic and psychiatrist have leaned heavily on the coroner's conclusion that difluoroethane inhalation was central, presenting that as the decisive factor in his death. They say the medical care did not cause the tragedy, and point out that regulators have not brought disciplinary action over the treatment Carter received.
From the outside, that sounds like two narratives running in parallel. One, from the family, holds that a troubled patient was failed by the professionals who prescribed and monitored his medication. The other, from the defendants, holds that Carter's own use of compressed air products was the real and direct cause of an accidental death – tragic, but not the result of malpractice.
Into that gap step lawyers who see settlements like this every day. Michael Hamilton Kugler, litigation director at GOLDLAW, says there is often a story behind any decision to pay, even when the legal paperwork denies everything.
'Readers can reasonably infer that the defendants recognised a significant risk that a jury would find the defendants responsible,' he said. 'Many settlements also reflect the parties' desire to control the detail of information that is available to the public, which would inevitably be exposed by a public trial.'
Source: International Business Times UK
