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Lizzie McGuire and Revenge of the Nerds star Robert Carradine died by suicide in February of this year. His family is now suing UCLA, accusing the psychiatric unit of wrongful death and elder abuse. They claim the unit failed to confiscate Carradine’s belt when he was admitted, as well as failing to follow other safety protocols. “Robert walked into UCLA’s locked psychiatric unit ‘feeling relieved to be hospitalized’ and hoped that ‘additional inpatient treatment would’ reduce his anxiety,” the legal filing obtained by The Wrap reads. “Instead of walking into a safe environment, he 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,” specifically letting someone with that history keep their belt. The lawsuit also claims Carradine’s room contained a “rolling bedside table in his room, which was not a standard piece of furniture in the locked psych unit,” and failed to check on Carradine with regularity.
Carradine self-harmed while in the unit. He suffered an “anoxic brain injury” and was in intensive care for five weeks before his death. He did not wake up in that time, per the filing. “None of this happened because UCLA lacked the knowledge, the policies or the means,” the lawsuit claims. “It happened because UCLA took shortcuts with two safeguards that were meant to protect Robert’s life.”
If you or anyone you know are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988.
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