Paxton family sues hospital
LOS ANGELES — The family of Bill Paxton has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against a Los Angeles hospital and the surgeon who performed the actor’s heart surgery shortly before he died.
The suit filed Friday against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center alleges the surgeon used a “highrisk and unconventional surgical approach” that was unnecessary, and which he lacked the experience to perform, and that he downplayed the procedure’s risks.
And it alleges the hospital knew the surgeon, Dr. Ali Khoynezhad, tended to “engage in maverick surgeries and show suboptimal judgment.”
The misguided treatment caused Paxton to suffer excessive bleeding, cardiogenic shock and a compromised coronary artery, the suit alleges.
Paxton’s death certificate says he died on Feb. 25, 2017 from a stroke, 11 days after surgery to replace a heart valve and repair aorta damage. He was 61.
“Bill Paxton and his family trusted the physicians and staff at this medical facility, but instead Cedars-Sinai betrayed their trust,” said the family’s lawyer Bruce Broillet.
Paxton’s widow, Louise, and children, James and Lydia, brought the lawsuit. It seeks unspecified damages and reserves the right to add more defendants who work for the hospital as their roles and names become clear.
Cedars-Sinai said it couldn’t comment about Paxton’s case.
Khoynezhad has since left Cedars-Sinai for another hospital. An after-hours call seeking comment from him was not immediately returned.
The lawsuit comes just before the first anniversary of the death of Paxton, who played major supporting roles in the films Apollo 13, Titanic, and Aliens, and starred in the HBO series Big Love.