Robert Carradine’s family sues UCLA alleging wrongful death after belt remained on psychiatric unit

Robert Carradine’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the University of California, Los Angeles, according to a report published Aug. 9, 2026, alleging negligence tied to the circumstances of the actor’s death while he was at a UCLA psychiatric unit. The complaint centers on an allegation that a belt was not removed from Carradine during his care, a failure the family says contributed to his death.

The report says Carradine, a performer known for Disney-related work, died on Feb. 23, 2026. He was 71 at the time of his death. In the lawsuit, the family argues that safety and supervision requirements in a psychiatric setting were not followed, pointing specifically to the continued presence of the belt during the period in question.

UCLA is named as the defendant in the suit, and the family’s claims seek accountability for what they describe as an avoidable preventable death within a hospital psychiatric environment. While the published report highlights the alleged belt-removal failure, it does not provide additional public details in the coverage about the exact sequence of events beyond the central allegation.

The complaint’s allegations, as described in the report, raise questions about protocols for removing potentially harmful personal items when a patient is placed in a psychiatric unit. In such settings, facilities generally rely on standardized procedures to reduce risks for self-harm or injury, and families in wrongful death cases often focus on whether staff complied with those safeguards.

The lawsuit also places the spotlight on how institutions manage emergency mental health care and patient safety measures, particularly where an adult patient is in a controlled treatment environment. Because the case is still at the litigation stage, the allegations have not been established in court, and UCLA’s response to the claims is expected to address the family’s account and the underlying facts the plaintiffs must prove.

If the court accepts the case for further proceedings, it will likely move through pretrial motions and evidence-gathering steps typical of civil wrongful death litigation. Those steps may include document production, deposition testimony from staff and administrators involved in the psychiatric unit, and expert review of whether the hospital’s practices met applicable standards of care.

The filing adds to the legal exposure facing major medical institutions when families contend that staff actions or inactions in controlled clinical settings led to fatal outcomes. For patients and families, the dispute highlights the continuing importance of clear safety protocols and consistent enforcement in psychiatric care units.