Bill paxton’s family reaches $1 million settlement with anesthesia firm over actor’s death

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Bill Paxton‘s widow and children have reached a partial settlement of their wrongful-death lawsuit, with an anesthesiologist medical group agreeing to pay $1 million. Attorneys for Dr. Moody


Makar and General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership filed court papers Wednesday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Steven Kleifield seeking approval of the accord between the Paxton


family members and the company. Makar works at the firm and was the anesthesiologist during heart surgery Paxton had less than two weeks before his death on February 25, 2017. According to


court documents, General Anesthesia Specialists’ lawyers said the company “denies liability in this matter” but said the settlement deal will “reasonably compensate plaintiffs and avoid


exposing defendant to an expensive and time consuming litigation.” Trial of the remainder of the 2018 lawsuit filed by the actor’s widow, Louise Paxton, and the couple’s children, James and


Lydia Paxton, against the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Dr. Ali Khoynezhad is scheduled for September 19. 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. WATCH ON DEADLINE “In Khoynezhad’s quest 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,” the suit states. Paxton had a long career in Hollywood,


appearing in such hit films as _Twister, True Lies, Apollo 13_ and_ Aliens _and starred in the HBO drama _Big Love _and the History miniseries _Hatfields & McCoys, _for which he got an


Emmy nomination. He also was a four-time Golden Globe nominee and SAG Award winner. His death certificate says Paxton he died of a stroke 11 days after surgery to replace a heart valve and


repair aorta damage. He was 61. _City News Service contributed to this report._