Her husband died by suicide. She sued his pain doctors — a rare challenge over an opioid dose reduction

For six years, Brent Slone had relied on opioid medication to tame his agonizing pain — and then he ran out. He raced to resolve the hang-up over his prescription. He tracked down old medical records, he called his pain clinic repeatedly, he even showed up at the door. But the final word came down: no refills until an appointment almost a week away.

“they denied script im done love you,” Slone, 40, texted his wife on the afternoon of Sept. 12, 2017. He killed himself shortly after.