The family of adult film actress Emily Willis, whose legal name is Litzy Lara Banuelos, has initiated legal action against Summit Malibu and its parent company, Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, following a tragic incident that left Willis in a vegetative state. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in December 2024, alleges that the rehab facility’s negligence and substandard care contributed to Willis’s permanent brain damage. Willis, 26, had entered the facility in January 2024 to address her addiction to ketamine, a powerful anesthetic drug.
Willis’s mother and conservator, Yesenia Lara Cooper, expressed concerns about her daughter’s health upon admission to the facility. Willis, weighing a mere 100 pounds, appeared underweight, yet Cooper claims that no consultation with a dietician was ever arranged. The lawsuit outlines a series of health issues Willis experienced during her stay at Summit Malibu, including a urinary tract infection, dehydration, and intense pain. It also details pre-existing conditions such as bladder inflammation, night terrors, anxiety, and PTSD that Willis was battling prior to entering rehab. Crucially, the lawsuit accuses the rehab center of denying Willis access to medical professionals on several occasions, despite her deteriorating health.
The incident that led to Willis’s catastrophic brain damage occurred on February 4, 2024, slightly over a week after her admission. A nurse discovered Willis unconscious in her room and immediately initiated CPR while simultaneously contacting emergency services. Paramedics arrived and continued resuscitation efforts for an extended period, ultimately managing to restore a heartbeat. However, the prolonged oxygen deprivation resulted in Willis falling into a coma. The lawsuit alleges that staff negligence, specifically leaving Willis unattended for excessive periods, directly contributed to her unconscious state and subsequent brain damage.
The lawsuit underscores the gravity of the situation by pointing out that Willis’s condition continued to worsen even after the initial incident. She suffered a heart attack approximately 26 hours after being found unconscious, which further compounded the damage already sustained by her brain. The family asserts that if standard medical protocols had been followed, Willis would have had a chance to recover. Instead, her life has been irrevocably altered due to what they claim was a preventable tragedy. The lawsuit emphasizes the critical nature of proper medical care, especially for vulnerable individuals like Willis, who qualified as a “dependent adult” according to the facility’s own intake policies.
The legal action centers around the accusation that Summit Malibu failed to provide Willis with the “safe conditions” and “proper care” required by her status as a dependent adult. This alleged neglect, the lawsuit claims, stands in direct violation of the facility’s own intake policies. The family argues that had the staff adhered to these policies and provided the appropriate medical attention, Willis’s life would not have been tragically altered. The lawsuit paints a picture of a facility that overlooked critical warning signs and failed to provide the necessary interventions that could have potentially prevented Willis’s devastating decline.
As a result of the alleged negligence, Willis now suffers from “locked-in syndrome,” a rare neurological disorder that has left her with complete paralysis except for limited eye movement. She is unable to communicate and requires constant care. Willis is currently residing in a care facility in Utah, where she continues to receive treatment for her condition. The family is seeking compensation for the irreversible brain damage, permanent physical and mental incapacity, pain, emotional distress, and other damages resulting from the alleged negligence at Summit Malibu. The lawsuit serves as a stark reminder of the importance of adequate care and oversight in rehabilitation facilities and the devastating consequences that can arise when such standards are not met.
