Nearly four years after Aaron Carter’s death, his family say they’ve moved a step closer to closure after a Los Angeles psychiatry clinic that prescribed him Xanax in the weeks before he died agreed to settle part of a wrongful death lawsuit.
According to court filings submitted in Los Angeles County on Tuesday, May 12, Amen Clinics and its psychiatrist Dr. John Faber agreed to pay a ‘confidential sum’ in what the paperwork describes as a ‘full and final resolution’ of the claims against them.
The settlement figure will not be disclosed publicly, though it is expected to be in the range the family initially sought — less than $325,000.
The case was brought after Carter’s family alleged that two doctors and two pharmacies ‘overprescribed’ Xanax and supplied ‘excessively high and unreasonably frequent amounts’ of the anti-anxiety medication, as reported by Rolling Stone.
The defendants rejected those allegations, insisting they acted appropriately and met accepted standards for prescribing.
They also argued that Carter’s death stemmed from ‘inhaling difluoroethane gas (‘huffing’)’, rather than any negligence or wrongdoing on their part.
Carter was found dead at his home on November 5, 2022, after drowning in his bathtub. He was 34.
The death was reportedly discovered by a distressed house sitter, who found him in the bathtub and later noted prescription medication and drug paraphernalia in his bedroom.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner subsequently determined that Carter drowned after inhaling difluoroethane and taking alprazolam, the generic form of Xanax.
Investigators believe he became incapacitated as the substances took effect, slipped below the waterline, and drowned.
Even with the settlement reached by Amen Clinics, the lawsuit continues. The wrongful death claim — filed on behalf of Carter’s now 4-year-old son, Princeton Lyric — also names dentist Jason Mirabile, Walgreens, and Santa Monica Medical Plaza Pharmacy as defendants.
Unlike Amen Clinics, those remaining defendants have not settled and are currently set to face trial in October, per Rolling Stone.
Carter first broke through in 1997 with his self-titled debut album, later releasing Aaron’s Party (Come Get It) (2000), Oh Aaron (2001), and Another Earthquake! (2002).
A prominent teen idol in the early 2000s, he was also the younger brother of Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter, and performed as an opening act for both the group and Britney Spears before embarking on his first solo tour.
Though he began in pop, Carter later shifted toward rap and released his fifth studio album, LØVË, in 2018.
Beyond music, he also took on acting roles, appearing in TV shows including Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Lizzie Maguire, and 7th Heaven.
He also appeared in films such as Fat Albert (2004), Popstar (2005), and Supercross (2005).