The UCLA hospital where actor Robert Carradine died following a suicide attempt in February was cited for safety protocol violations in a Department of Health and Human Services report.
The report’s findings were filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court as an addendum to an August 7 lawsuit brought by Carradine’s children against the Regents of the University of California, and were reviewed by Our News Outlet.
In the lawsuit, Carradine’s children allege that staffing failures at UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital contributed to their father’s death at age 71 on February 23. He died from the effects of an anoxic brain injury caused by a suicide attempt while he was receiving care at the facility.
Following an inspection conducted in April, officials determined that “the facility was found not to be in compliance” with DHHS requirements governing patient rights and nursing services.
According to the report, the hospital “failed to provide a safe environment for care.” Inspectors pointed to a policy requiring patient checks every 15 minutes “in accordance to the facility’s policy and procedure.”
The Daily Mail has contacted attorneys for Carradine’s family, the UC Regents, Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital and the Department of Health and Human Services seeking further comment.
The UCLA hospital where actor Robert Carradine died following a suicide attempt in February was cited for breaching safety protocols in a Department of Health and Human Services report. The late actor is pictured in Los Angeles in 2018
The report also cited the presence of “two contraband items” — identified as “a belt and a bedside table” — that Carradine used in the suicide attempt.
The facility’s director of quality management told DHHS officials in April that ‘the nurse failed to confiscate (take or seize with authority) the contraband of a belt, cellphone, and wallet’ when Carradine had been admitted to the facility January 16.
The director said ‘she was not aware whose responsibility it was to remove the bedside table’ in Carradine’s room, according to the DHHS report, adding that she said the table ‘was probably left over from the previous occupant’ in the room.
Earlier this month, Carradine’s daughters Ever and Marika, and son Ian, filed a wrongful death and elder abuse and neglect lawsuit against the regents and various does.
According to court documents obtained by The Daily Mail, Carradine voluntarily admitted himself into Resnick twice in one month – he was discharged following seven days on January 9 before returning on January 16 due to a ‘manic episode suicidal ideation.’
Carradine was ‘relieved to be hospitalized’ and hoped that ‘additional inpatient treatment would reduce his anxiety,’ the documents stated.
‘But Robert’s hopes for successful treatment didn’t match the reality he had stepped into,’ the document claims. ‘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.’
Carradine’s children specifically highlighted that he was never stripped of a ‘belt,’ which is outlined as contraband, the complaint alleges.
The late actor Robert Carradine’s family filed a wrongful death, elder abuse, and neglect lawsuit against the University of California on Friday; pictured in 2024
Carradine pictured with daughter Ever
‘The belongings form that UCLA generated from Robert’s admission shows the facility failed to confiscate his belt,’ the lawsuit alleged. ‘UCLA also left a rolling bedside table in his room, which was not a standard piece of furniture in the locked psych unit.’
Carradine’s manner of death was ruled suicide in June; the actor endured a long struggle with serious mental illness that his family has spoken about publicly.
Medical Examiner records state that the actor had a history of bipolar disorder, severe depression with psychotic features, anxiety and prior suicidal ideation.
‘None of this happened because UCLA lacked the knowledge, the policies or the means,’ the family’s lawsuit said. ‘It happened because UCLA took shortcuts with two safeguards that were meant to protect Robert’s life.’
Carradine’s children also claimed ‘no one watched him or checked on him for long periods of time despite orders to watch him every 15 minutes.’
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‘The staff member assigned to watch Robert sat in a chair in the hallway and entered observations into an iPad without ever looking at him.
Carradine’s children said in the filing, ‘The iPad carried forward whatever information had last been entered, so that UCLA staff were allowed to click that they had checked on someone without ever looking at them.’
‘On paper, UCLA produced a perfect record, making it look like they were checking on suicidal patients every 15 minutes.’
The actor (pictured in a 2013 King of the Nerds promotional still) died on February 23 from the effects of an anoxic brain injury caused by a suicide attempt while he was being treated at UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital
‘In reality, UCLA allowed staff to cut corners knowing that doing so placed its patients with suicidal ideation, including Robert at risk of suicide and death.’
Additionally, the filing stated UCLA ‘did not investigate reality’ and recorded ‘a version of events’ contradicted by video surveillance.
The plaintiffs are seeking general damages, special and economic damages, and wrongful damages.
According to the medical examiner’s investigative summary, Carradine voluntarily admitted himself to UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital on January 16, 2026 because he was experiencing suicidal thoughts.
The following day, hospital staff found him unresponsive in his room after what investigators described as an apparent hanging involving a leather belt.
Medical personnel were able to restore circulation and Carradine was transferred to intensive care, where he remained hospitalized for more than five weeks.
His condition continued to deteriorate and he was pronounced dead on February 23.
The medical examiner’s report lists the cause of death as ‘sequelae of anoxic brain injury’ due to hanging. The report notes that no foul play was suspected.
Carradine played Hilary Duff’s TV dad on the Disney show Lizzie McGuire; L-R Jake Thomas, Duff, Carradine, and Hallie Todd pictured in 2001
Carradine pictured with Thomas and Todd in the 2003 Lizzie McGuire film
Keith Carradine said there was ‘no shame’ in his brother’s suicide and described Robert’s death as the result of a long battle with mental illness; pictured in 2022
Investigators interviewed family members as part of the inquiry into Carradine’s death.
Carradine had battled bipolar disorder, depression and psychosis for roughly two decades and had recently become increasingly depressed.
The records also indicate that Carradine had previously sought treatment for suicidal thoughts at the same facility.
Family members believed he had been discharged too early following an earlier hospitalization before he returned and admitted himself again in January.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US at 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.
