Robert Carradine’s grieving family is taking legal action against the University of California, claiming a series of disturbing failures inside a UCLA psychiatric facility contributed to the actor’s death earlier this year.
The 71-year-old Revenge of the Nerds star had reportedly checked himself into UCLA’s locked psychiatric unit while struggling with severe anxiety and suicidal thoughts, hoping to get the intensive treatment he needed.
But according to a wrongful death and elder abuse lawsuit filed Friday, his family says the care Carradine received fell dangerously short.
“Robert’s hopes for successful treatment didn’t match the reality he had stepped into,” the lawsuit states, according to TheWrap.
Among the family’s most serious allegations is the claim that Carradine was allowed to keep a belt after being admitted — even though UCLA’s own policies allegedly classified belts as contraband inside the psychiatric unit.
The lawsuit also claims staff left a rolling bedside table inside his room and failed to perform required safety checks every 15 minutes.
Just 19 hours after being admitted, Carradine attempted suicide, according to the filing.
He suffered an anoxic brain injury, a devastating condition caused when the brain is deprived of oxygen, and remained in intensive care for approximately five weeks.
Carradine died on Feb. 23 at age 71.
His family alleges the tragedy could have been prevented.
“None of this happened because UCLA lacked the knowledge, the policies or the means,” the lawsuit states. “It happened because UCLA took shortcuts.”
Following Carradine’s death, his family revealed that the veteran actor had battled bipolar disorder for nearly two decades.
Carradine came from one of Hollywood’s most recognizable acting families and built a career that stretched across decades.
He became a cult-movie favorite playing lovable nerd Lewis Skolnick in the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds and its sequels.
A younger generation knew him as Sam McGuire, the father of Hilary Duff’s character on the hit Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire.
Carradine is survived by his three children, Ever, Marika and Ian.
Now, months after his death, his family is demanding answers over what they claim were preventable safety failures during the actor’s final weeks.