Bill Paxton, whose film credits include Apollo 13, True Lies, Twister, Titanic, and Aliens, and in television series including Big Love, died of a stroke on Feb. 25, 2017. He was 61. The actor passed away just 11 days after a surgeon named Dr. Ali Khoynezhad used, according to the lawsuit, an unnecessary procedure that he lacked the experience to perform and described as “high risk and unconventional surgical approach. The suit also alleges that Khoynezhad, tended to “engage in maverick surgeries and show suboptimal judgment.” Following the surgery, Paxton suffered excessive bleeding, cardio genic shock, and a compromised coronary artery. According to his death certificate, the Texas native had surgery to replace a heart valve and repair aorta damage.
According to a Friday court filing, the family of the late actor agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit against a Los Angeles hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Dr. Khoynezhad who performed his heart surgery. The suit, filed against the hospital more than four years ago, was marked by frequent attempts by the Paxton family to extract more discovery evidence from the hospital, and frequent court hearings over the issue, had been scheduled to go to trial next month. However, attorneys for Paxton's wife, Louise, and their two children, James, and Lydia, filed a notice in Los Angeles Superior Court that they had agreed to settle the case.
Paxton Family Legal Battles Finally Comes to a Conclusion
The plaintiffs' lawyers Bruce Broillet and Steve Heimberg said in a statement,
“The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.”
The hospital and doctor claimed Paxton and his family were well aware of the risks and voluntarily went on with the surgery. The defendants' said there was no negligence that led to his death. The actor’s family said in the 2018 suit that both parties “betrayed their trust” by downplaying the risks associated in the surgery. Reportedly, Khoynezhad stopped working for the hospital shortly after Paxton’s death. Earlier this year, Paxton’s family also reached a $1 million settlement with the anesthesiologist medical group involved in the fateful surgery.
From the early 1980s until his death, Paxton was among the entertainment industry’s busiest actors. At the time of his death, he was starring in the CBS drama series Training Day as Detective Frank Roarke, the head of LAPD’s Special Investigative Section (SIS).
The terms of the settlement are confidential, and the agreement must still be approved by a judge.