Remember Bill Paxton? He starred in movies like Twister, Titanic, and Mighty Joe Young and tragically died last year on February 25 shortly after “having heart surgery at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.” Now his family has decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the “California hospital where he died” on allegations that “the heart complications that ultimately took Paxton’s life were a result of negligence by the hospital and the surgeon who operated on him.” In fact, a statement from the lawsuit reads:“The hospital misrepresented and/or concealed information relating to the risks of surgery and care that would be provided and/or failed to adequately explain the proposed treatment or procedure and/or failed to disclose that [surgeon] Ali Khoynezhad was going to use a high-risk and unconventional surgical approach with which he lacked experience and which was … beyond the scope of his privileges.”

Bill Paxton; image courtesy of
Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org

But why did Paxton seek medical help in the first place? Well, it turns out he “sought treatment from Khoynezhad and the hospital for heart conditions that included bicuspid aortic valve and aortic aneurysm.” Though he ended up undergoing surgery, the lawsuit said, “based upon information and belief, heart surgery was not indicated as a necessary treatment.”During the alleged necessary surgery, the suit contends that “when Paxton began experiencing complications, Khoynezhad had left the operating room, and possibly left the hospital, without arranging for continuous care and coverage.” That's why the lawsuit is alleging “failures in treating Paxton and in supervision.”Due to the controversy after Paxton's death, “Dr. Khoynezhad left his position as a surgeon at Cedars-Sinai,” but that's not stopping Paxton's family from going after him. When discussing the case, attorney Steve Heimberg said, “We are pursuing accountability and justice from a physician and a hospital that failed to adequately protect Mr. Paxton.”Bruce Broillet, an attorney for Paxton's family, also chimed in, saying: “Bill Paxton and his family trusted the physicians and staff at this medical facility but instead Cedars-Sinai betrayed their trust. The surgeon’s actions resulted in this tragic and preventable death.”In response to the allegations and lawsuit, the hospital issued the following statement:“Nothing is more important to Cedars-Sinai than the health and safety of our patients. These remain our top priorities. One of the reasons for our high quality is that we thoroughly review concerns about any patient’s medical care. This process ensures that we can continue to provide the highest quality care.”For those who don't know, Paxton was a graduate of Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Paxton first got his feet wet in the film industry in the 1970s when he worked for the “art department on Roger Corman movies." Throughout the 1980s and '90s, he “became a favorite of director James Cameron...appearing in films such as The Terminator, Aliens, and Titanic.”

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Bill Paxton's family files wrongful death lawsuitBill Paxton’s Family Sues Los Angeles Hospital for Wrongful Death of Late Actor