The family of late actor Robert Carradine has filed a lawsuit against the University of California, Los Angeles, alleging wrongful death, elder abuse and neglect.
According to the unfiled civil complaint submitted in Los Angeles by his family on Friday, August 7, and obtained by Us, Carradine voluntarily admitted himself to the hospital on January 2 and was discharged seven days later. At the time, he told his psychiatrist that “he felt like he was discharged too soon and anxiously messaged him asking for more help and re-hospitalization.”
In the days leading up to his readmission, Carradine told people at UCLA that he was anxious, felt like he was discharged from the hospital too soon, and felt like he needed to be readmitted to the hospital, per the documents.
“He told UCLA exactly what was wrong with him: he was having suicidal thoughts. Even so, he told his psychiatrist he didn’t ‘want to die,’” as stated in the legal filing.
The Lizzie McGuire alum voluntarily checked himself into UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital again on January 16 for help with ongoing suicidal ideation, according to court docs filed in Los Angeles by his family on Friday, August 7, and obtained by Us. He later died on February 23 of anoxic brain injury, which occurs when the brain does not receive enough oxygen. He was 71.
Carradine’s family stated that he told the hospital’s admitting physician he felt like there was “no way out” and that things felt “unsolvable.” He was diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder with psychotic features, according to the docs. The physician ordered that Carradine be observed every 15 minutes during his hospitalization.
The suit added that Carradine felt “relieved” to be hospitalized.“He was happy to be in a ‘locked, structured environment’ where he could rest — one that felt ‘containing and helpful,’” the docs read.
However, according to the filing, Carradine’s “hopes for successful treatment didn’t match the reality he had stepped into.”
The suit alleges that staff failed to check on Carradine for “more than half an hour” before his death despite reporting that they did so on his observation sheet.
“On paper, UCLA produced a perfect record, making it look like they were checking on suicidal patients every 15 minutes,” the suit read. “In reality, UCLA allowed staff to cut corners knowing that doing so placed its patients with suicidal ideation, including Robert, at risk of suicide and death.”
The family also alleged that UCLA “let him walk into a locked psychiatric unit” with an article of clothing that “suicidal patients are not allowed to have because it can be used” in acts of self-harm. “So removing accessible items prevents sudden, high-risk acts,” the family added.
Carradine attempted to take his own life 19 hours after he was admitted to the hospital, the docs stated. He “never regained consciousness” and “suffered an anoxic brain injury” that led him to spend “the next five weeks in the intensive care unit” before his death.
“None of this happened because UCLA lacked the knowledge, the policies or the means,” the document continued. “It happened because UCLA took shortcuts with two safeguards that were meant to protect Robert’s life.”
Carradine’s family is seeking general, special and economic damages, as well as additional wrongful damages.
Per the suit, Carradine’s children filed the lawsuit “so that other vulnerable patients at UCLA Resnick aren’t neglected the way their father was.”
In addition to battling bipolar disorder, Carradine struggled with severe depression and anxiety in the years before his death, a Los Angeles County Medical Examiner report obtained by Us revealed in June.
Carradine’s family confirmed his death in a February 23 statement to Deadline. He is survived by his three kids, Ever, Marika and Ian.
“It is with profound sadness that we must share that our beloved father, grandfather, uncle, and brother Robert Carradine has passed away,” they shared. “In a world that can feel so dark, Bobby was always a beacon [of] light to everyone around him. We are bereft at the loss of this beautiful soul and want to acknowledge Bobby’s valiant struggle against his nearly two-decade battle with bipolar disorder.”
The statement continued, “We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness. At this time we ask for the privacy to grieve this unfathomable loss. With gratitude for your understanding and compassion.”
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