Alan Sawyer
It has been nearly six years since Bill Paxton passed away. The cause of death was listed as a stroke in 2017, but a lawsuit filed nearly a year later was just settled soon before it was set to go to trial.
Videos by Rare
The family for Paxton had sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in a wrongful death case. It alleged that the actor had suffered serious complications through the process. It also squarely placed blame on the hospital staff — namely the attending surgeon Dr. Ali Khoynezhad — who the suit said negligently performed.
Bruce Broillet and Steve Heimberg, co-lead lawyers in the case, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that the situation has been closed.
“The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties,” the release read.
The terms of the settlement will remain confidential.
It is important to note that an out-of-court settlement is not an admission of guilt. Often the cost of the trial can be as prohibitive as it will also include lawyers fees to go along with the risk of a jury finding out of favor and being more expensive.
Whether that is the case here or not is purely speculative.
How did he pass?
Paxton died in 2017 of a stroke following heart surgery for aortic aneurysm repair. The process was not a routine one, but his passing was sudden and unexpected.
The suit also alleges the hospital attempted a cover up. It asserts that by not performing a standard autopsy and hiring for Paxton to cremated (a service his family didn’t want one) obfuscated from the malpractice.
Cedars-Sinai Hospital did not make a statement on the matter.
