Bill Paxton family settles lawsuit with hospital
The family of the late actor Bill Paxton has agreed to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit against a Los Angeles hospital and the surgeon who performed his heart surgery shortly before he died in 2017, according to a court filing Friday.
The suit, filed against CedarsSinai Medical Center more than four years ago, had been scheduled to go to trial next month.
But attorneys for Paxton’s wife of 30 years, Louise, and their two children, James and Lydia, filed a notice in Los Angeles Superior Paxton Court that they settle the case.had agreed to “The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties,” plaintiffs’ lawyers Bruce Broillet and Steve Heimberg said in a statement.
The terms are confidential, the attorneys said. Emails seeking comment from the defendants were not immediately returned. The agreement must still be approved by a judge.
Paxton, who starred in films including “Apollo 13,” “Titanic” and “Aliens” and in television series including “Big Love,” died Feb. 25, 2017.
The cause was a stroke that came 11days after surgery to replace a heart valve and repair aorta damage, according to his death certificate.
The lawsuit, filed a year later, alleged that the surgeon, Dr. Ali Khoynezhad, used a “high-risk and unconventional surgical approach” that was unnecessary and that he lacked the experience to perform, and that he downplayed the procedure’s risks.
The defendants said in court documents that Paxton and his family knew and understood the risks involved in the procedure, and voluntarily went on with the surgery. The defendants’ said there was no negligence that led to his death.