Michael Jackson's mother has filed suit against promoters of a concert series he was supposed to give in London in 2009,

Michael Jackson's mother sues concert promoters
Updated at: 1349 PST, Thursday, September 16, 2010


LOS ANGELES: Late pop icon Michael Jackson's mother has filed suit against promoters of a concert series he was supposed to give in London in 2009, claiming they shared the blame for his death during rehearsals.

Katherine Jackson filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court in her name and those of the singer's three children. The suit is for an unspecified amount in damages.

She charged that the AEG group did not give her son appropriate medical care during rehearsals for the shows, and alleged negligence in allowing Dr. Conrad Murray to care exclusively for her son.

A Los Angeles judge has set a January 2011 hearing to weigh whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Murray for involuntary manslaughter over the singer's death.

The 57-year-old doctor, who was with Jackson when he died June 25, 2009, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in February this year, but is free on a 75,000 dollar bond.

Officials have ruled that Jackson died after being injected with a powerful cocktail of sedatives and painkillers, including propofol, which the singer regularly requested from Murray to help him sleep.

Jackson's death sent shockwaves around the world, and family and fans were outraged to learn that the man dubbed the King of Pop was administered a dangerous mix of powerful prescription drugs in the hours before his death.

Murray, who was born in Grenada and grew up in Trinidad before moving to the United States, has denied the charges against him, which were filed after a painstaking seven-month probe involving local and federal investigators.