Bill Paxton’s Family Agrees to $1 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Over Actor’s 2017 Death

Bill Paxton’s family has reached a settlement with a medical group over the 2017 death of the award-winning film and TV actor.

Per NBC News, the family has reached a $1 million settlement with the General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership medical group, which had previously been added to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2018. The plaintiffs in that suit—which was first filed against Cedars-Sinai—are the Apollo 13 and Twister actor’s widow Louise Paxton as well as children James and Lydia.

In a separate report from Deadline, it’s noted that attorneys for Dr. Moody Makar and the medical group filed papers in Los Angeles Superior Court this week asking for an approval of an agreement between the Paxton family and the company, which denies liability but considers the settlement a way of being able to “reasonably compensate” the plaintiffs without extended litigation.

Paxton, who won a Screen Actors Guild award for his portrayal of NASA astronaut Fred Haise in the Ron Howard-directed Apollo 13, died in February 2017 at the age of 61. The Emmy-nominated Big Love actor’s death was a shock to fans and friends alike, with subsequent reports revealing he had suffered a stroke days after surgery involving a heart valve replacement and an aortic aneurysm. 

Among Paxton’s final performances were the CBS series Training Day, which marked a continuation of the 2001 movie of the same name from director Antoine Fuqua, and the posthumously released thriller The Circle. The film also starred Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, with the former having previously acted alongside Paxton in the aforementioned Apollo 13.