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The family of actor Robert Carradine filed a lawsuit against the governing body of UCLA, saying that the \u201cRevenge of the Nerds\u201d star\u2019s death by suicide in February at a university-affiliated psychiatric facility was preventable.<\/p>\n
In a legal complaint filed Aug. 7 with Los Angeles Superior Court, the children of Carradine allege that the psychiatric care team at the UCLA health facility was reckless in its care and committed elder abuse and neglect.<\/p>\n
Carradine, 71, had checked into the facility shortly before his death.<\/p>\n
The 27-page suit names the UC regents as defendants, along with physicians, nurses, clinical care partners and other officials who are identified as \u201cDoes 1-100.\u201d Plaintiffs in the suit include Carradine\u2019s estate and his surviving children.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked for help. He recognized that he was a danger to himself and voluntarily walked into a psychiatric hospital to be kept safe,\u201d the family claimed in the suit reviewed by The Times. \u201cHe knew he was not safe to be left alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suicide prevention and crisis counseling resources<\/p>\n
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional or call 988. The nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Or text \u201cHOME\u201d to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.<\/p>\n
Carradine had bipolar disorder, and the lawsuit says that he had admitted that he had \u201csuicidal thoughts\u201d when he checked into UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Westwood.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of walking into a safe environment, [Carradine] walked into a locked facility that broke a cardinal rule for a hospitalized psychiatric patient with active suicidal thoughts and a history of suicide attempts,\u201d the lawsuit says. \u201cUCLA let him walk into a locked psychiatric unit with a belt.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family also said hospital staff left him in a room with a table that had not been removed from his unit before being placed there, according to the lawsuit. He died about 19 hours after checking into the facility, the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n
Robert Carradine, best known for the 1980s \u201cNerds\u201d movies, struggled with bipolar disorder for years, his family said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of this happened because UCLA lacked the knowledge, the policies or the means,\u201d the civil complaint says. \u201cIt happened because UCLA took shortcuts with two safeguards that were meant to protect Robert\u2019s life. UCLA gave Robert the means to hurt himself and then no one watched over him or checked on him for long periods of time despite orders to watch him every 15 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawsuit says that UCLA staff was distracted during Carradine\u2019s observation intake and that they falsified their records to reflect proper care.<\/p>\n