MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A Wisconsin family has filed a federal lawsuit over their 22-year-old son's death.

The cost of Cole Schmidtknecht's asthma inhaler was raised from $65 to over $500. His parents said Cole chose rent over medicine. Days later, Cole suffered a severe asthma attack and died from cardiac arrest.

"It's going to be a battle for sure," Michael Trunk, a lawyer representing the Schmidtknechts, said.

Trunk, a partner at Kline & Specter, alleged OptumRx and Cole's pharmacy, Walgreens, are at fault in Cole's death.

"Our hope is that this lawsuit and Cole's death will lead them to kind of introspect on their own policies and change their policies going forward," Trunk said.

The case continues, alleging OptumRx, a pharmacy benefit manager, did not give Cole the required 30-days notice about the cost increase, which would have given him the time to file an exception.

In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson from OptumRx, who asked for anonymity for the sake of safety citing the murder of the CEO of United Healthcare, wrote, "Mr. Schmidtknecht's death was tragic, and our thoughts are with his family. The claims made are factually inaccurate."

Walgreens declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

The Schmidtknechts' lawyer said he expects this case to go to trial within the next two years.