Warning: This story contains details of self-harm and suicide.
Robert Carradine’s family sued the regents of the University of California for wrongful death and elder abuse and neglect Friday, alleging that failures at UCLA’s facility contributed to the actor’s death.
“Robert walked into UCLA’s locked psychiatric unit ‘feeling relieved to be hospitalized’ and hoped that ‘additional inpatient treatment would’ reduce his anxiety,” the filing, which was obtained and viewed by TheWrap, stated. “He was happy to be in a ‘locked, structured environment’ where he could rest – one that felt ‘containing and helpful.’”
The document continued: “But Robert’s hopes for successful treatment didn’t match the reality he had stepped into. 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, Carradine’s family alleged that “UCLA let him walk into a locked psychiatric unit with a belt,” which can be used to “cause self-harm or hanging.”
The suit argued that it is “standard” for psychiatric hospitals to remove belts, as well as shoelaces and drawstrings, with UCLA’s own policy listing “belts and belt buckles” as contraband.
“The belongings form that UCLA generated from Robert’s admission shows the facility failed to confiscate his belt,” the document claimed. “UCLA also left a rolling bedside table in his room, which was not a standard piece of furniture in the locked psych unit.”
Per the filing, Carradine died by suicide 19 hours later.
“None of this happened because UCLA lacked the knowledge, the policies or the means,” the document added. “It happened because UCLA took shortcuts with two safeguards that were meant to protect Robert’s life.”
Carradine’s family also alleged that the hospital failed to check in on the actor “every 15 minutes,” claiming “no one watched him or checked on him for long periods of time.”
“Robert never regained consciousness,” the filing stated. “He suffered an anoxic brain injury and spent the next five weeks in the intensive care unit. He never recovered and died on February 23, 2026.”
The lawsuit also alleged that UCLA “did not investigate reality,” instead it preserved “a version of events in the records that the surveillance video contradicted.”
Carradine’s loved ones are seeking general damages, special and economic damages, as well as wrongful damages from the defendants.
Representatives for the regents of the University of California did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
This update comes nearly six months after word of Carradine’s death, which was confirmed by the “Revenge of the Nerds” star’s family.
“It is with profound sadness that we must share that our beloved father, grandfather, uncle and brother Robert Carradine has passed away,” the family wrote in a statement to media in February. “In a world that can feel so dark, Bobby was always a beacon on light to everyone around him. We are bereft at the loss of this beautiful soul and want to acknowledge Bobby’s valiant struggle against his nearly two-decade battle with Bipolar Disorder.”
They continued: “We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness. At this time we ask for the privacy to grieve this unfathomable loss. With gratitude for your understanding and compassion.”
He was born Robert Reed Carradine on March 24, 1954 in Los Angeles, Calif. to actress Sonia Sorel and actor John Carradine, a member of the storied Carradine acting family, which also includes his brothers, actors David Carradine, Keith Carradine and Disney Imagineer Christopher Carradine.
Carradine followed in his famous family’s footsteps, becoming best known for his work in the aforementioned “Revenge of the Nerds” films, “The Long Riders” and Disney Channel’s “Lizzie McGuire.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
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