Bill Paxton relatives settle suit filed against Cedars-Sinai surgeon

With trial looming in a month, attorneys for the family of the late Bill Paxton said Friday that a settlement has been reached in the relatives’ lawsuit against a surgeon and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where the actor died in 2017.

Trial of the Paxton case against the hospital and Dr. Ali Khoynezhad had been scheduled for Sept. 19, more than four years after the suit was brought in February 2018 by the actor’s widow, Louise Paxton, and the couple’s children, James and Lydia Paxton.

“The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties,” said co-lead plaintiffs lawyers Bruce Broillet and Steve Heimberg, who added that the terms of the settlement are confidential.

The actor’s death certificate states he died of a stroke at age 61, 11 days after he had surgery on Feb. 14, 2017, to replace a heart valve and repair aorta damage.

Khoynezhad was a cardiothoracic surgeon employed by Cedars-Sinai who was known prior to the Paxton death to practice what has been testified to by the hospital staff as “cowboy medicine,” according to the suit, which further alleged that in his desire to generate more surgeries and higher numbers, he continued to “push the envelope and pushed to do surgeries on cases that were marginal at best.”

In addition, Khoynezhad was commonly referred to among the staff as “AK-47,” the name of an assault weapon, the suit states.

In February, Paxton’s family reached a separate settlement with an anesthesiologist medical group that agreed to pay $1 million.

Paxton had supporting roles in the films, “Apollo 13,” “Titanic” and “Aliens.” He was also a director, most notably of the gothic horror film “Frailty,” as well as the feature film “The Greatest Game Ever Played.”

Before his death, Paxton was part of the case of the CBS drama “Training Day.”