Robert Carradine’s family takes UCLA to court over actor’s tragic suicide

Robert Carradine, best known for Revenge of the Nerds, died by suicide at a University of California, Los Angeles-affiliated psychiatric facility.

Now, the actor's family is suing the very institute, alleging the star's death could have been prevented.

Carradine's children and estate filed a lawsuit in L.A. Superior Court against UCLA regents and medical staff.

The key accusations in the case include claims of negligence, elder abuse, and neglect.

The matter began before February - the month in which he passed away- when Carradine had been voluntarily checked into UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Westwood.

Already suffering from bipolar disorder, the late actor's family in the lawsuit alleged, “He asked for help. He recognized that he was a danger to himself and voluntarily walked into a psychiatric hospital to be kept safe."

"He knew he was not safe to be left alone," the family claimed, adding the facility, however, allegedly did not provide enough safeguards necessary to keep Carradine safe.

“Instead of walking into a safe environment, [Carradine] 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. UCLA let him walk into a locked psychiatric unit with a belt," the lawsuit said.

As a result, the family claimed Carradine died nearly 19 hours after checking into the facility.

UC Regents and UCLA Health, however, have not yet commented on the lawsuit.