A hospital in Athens, Georgia filed a lawsuit against a singer-songwriter whose disability made high hospital bills a fact of life – and now of death.
Vic Chesnutt, took an overdose of muscle relaxants, apparently deliberately, and died on Christmas day, He was 45.
The health authority’s actions may not have been the only cause of his suicide but it contributed unnecessarily to making his life a constant battle. In any civilised nation, a person paralysed has the right to expect financial assistance to pay for basic treatment.
This year, Vic made two brilliant albums – At The Cut (a second collaboration with guys from A Silver Mt Zion among others) and a more paired down solo work Skitter On Take-Off. Like all his records over the past two decades they contain songs of stark honesty, rich humanity and black humour, proving that his death was most certainly not due to any loss of his creative faculties.
In the lyrics to ‘Myrtle’ in 1996, he wrote “I’m not an optimist – I’m not a realist – I might be a sub-realist but I can’t substantiate “.
He will be greatly missed.
James Victor “Vic” Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009).
