The The family of the late actor Bill Paxton He agreed to settle a wrongful death case against a Los Angeles hospital and the surgeon who performed his heart operation shortly before his death in 2017, according to a court filing Friday.
The lawsuit, which was filed against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center more than four years ago, was due to go to trial next month. But attorneys for Paxton’s 30-year-old wife, Louise, and their two children, James and Lydia, filed notice in Los Angeles Superior Court that they agreed to settle the case.
“The matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties,” attorneys for the plaintiffs, Bruce Brouer and Steve Heimberg, said in a statement.
The lawyers said the terms were confidential. Emails seeking comment from the defendants were not immediately received. The agreement has yet to be approved by a judge.
Paxton, who starred in films including “Apollo 13,” “Titanic,” “Alien” and in television series including “Big Love,” died on February 25, 2017.
The reason for this was the stroke that came 11 days after he had surgery to replace a heart valve and repair damaged aorta, according to his death certificate.
The lawsuit, filed a year later, alleged that surgeon Dr Ali Khwenzad had used a “high-risk and unconventional surgical technique” that was unnecessary and that he lacked the experience to perform it, and that he had minimized the risks of the operation.
The misguided treatment caused Paxton to develop excessive bleeding, cardiogenic shock and coronary artery dysfunction, the suit alleged, and said Cedars-Sinai knew that Khwenzad, had a tendency to “engage in splinter surgeries and display suboptimal judgment.”
The defendants said in court documents that Paxton and his family knew and understood the risks involved in the procedure, and voluntarily proceeded with the surgery. The defendants said there was no negligence that led to his death.
The four-year legal battle was marked by repeated attempts by the Paxton family to extract more discovery evidence from the hospital, and repeated court hearings on the case.
Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Paxton was among the busiest actors in the industry from the early 1980s until his death, amassing nearly 100 credits, including “Twister” and “Weird Science.” He was starring in the CBS drama “Training Day” when he died.
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