Bill Paxton's family sues surgeon, hospital for wrongful death

The family of Bill Paxton has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Los Angeles hospital and the surgeon who performed the actor's heart surgery shortly before he died.

The suit filed on Feb. 9 against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center alleges the surgeon used a "high risk and unconventional surgical approach" that was unnecessary and that he lacked the experience to perform.

Paxton's death certificate says he died Feb. 25, 2017, from a stroke, 11 days after surgery to replace a heart valve and repair aorta damage.

A spokeswoman for the hospital says patient privacy laws forbid her from giving comment on Paxton's case, but nothing is more important to Cedars-Sinai than the health and safety of its patients.

Paxton starred in the films Titanic and Aliens, and the HBO series Big Love.