Joel Silver Sued for Wrongful Death by Family of Assistant Who Drowned in 2015

Lawsuit claims an employee of Silver’s provided Carmel Musgrove with drugs and alcohol prior to her death

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Hollywood producer Joel Silver is being sued for wrongful death by the family of Carmel Musgrove, the producer’s former assistant, who drowned in Bora Bora in 2015 during a celebrity-packed celebration of Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux’s honeymoon.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday, also names Silver’s company, Silver Pictures, and the company’s employee, Martin Herold, as defendants.

Musgrave, who was 28 at the time of her death, had traveled with Silver and his entourage to Bora Bora and was there for several weeks performing work-related duties.

She died sometime between midnight and 1 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2015, when her body was found in a lagoon. French investigators later determined that over-consumption of alcohol, consumption of cocaine, fatigue from overwork, heat exhaustion and swimming at night with poor visibility all contributed to her death.

The suit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, alleges that “four of these reasons… are traceable to conduct involving the defendants,” stating that Herold provided Musgrove with the cocaine and alcohol, while her employment with Silver was the cause of her exhaustion.

The suit also suggests that Silver might have been aware of Musgrove’s drug use, though it also notes Silver emphatically denied any knowledge.

“Defendant Herold committed a wrongful act by furnishing Carmel with cocaine,” attorney Brian Watkins says in the suit.

“The Silver defendants, themselves or through their agents, committed wrongful acts by furnishing Carmel with excessive amounts of alcohol, furnishing her with cocaine, creating excessive fatigue by requiring her performance of work functions during the Silver’s family vacation in Bora Bora… which included her suffering a heat stroke as a result of a work function,” the suit continues.

Silver has not responded to a request for comment.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

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