The family of former adult entertainment actress Emily Willis is close to reaching a settlement with the rehabilitation center where she was found unconscious and suffering from a heart attack.
The 27‑year‑old Willis suffered “irreversible brain damage” during the 2024 incident at the Malibu rehabilitation center, leaving her “permanently disabled.”
Willis, whose real name is Litzy Lara Banuelo, checked into Summit Malibu seeking treatment for anorexia. Reports state she weighed just 100 pounds at the time, while her lawyer claimed she was not seeking help for ketamine use, which she had stopped prior to entering the facility.
In February 2024, the adult star was found unresponsive in her room after experiencing hot and cold chills, tremors, an elevated heart rate, headaches, and difficulty walking.
It is unclear how long she had been unconscious before being discovered, but Willis suffered an anoxic brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation, leaving her disabled and paralyzed.
The lawsuit filed by Willis’ mother, Yesenia Cooper, states that a nurse performed CPR on the 27‑year‑old for three minutes before paramedics arrived. They were able to regain a pulse after 30–40 minutes of resuscitation efforts.
Cooper’s lawsuit, filed in December 2024 against Summit Malibu and its parent company, Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, argued that her daughter’s “irreversible brain damage and permanent physical and mental incapacity, pain, suffering and emotional distress” were caused “as a direct and proximate result of (Summit Malibu’s) neglect, abandonment, recklessness and negligence in failing to provide care and treatment for Willis.”
Reports now indicate that a tentative settlement has been reached between Willis’ family and Summit Malibu.
“Summit Malibu’s attorneys filed court papers on 24 February with Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young notifying him of a ‘conditional’ accord in the case brought by Yesenia Lara Cooper, along with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by 1 September,” MyNewsLA.com reports.
In earlier court filings, Summit Malibu’s lawyers claimed that Willis “had refused to follow medical recommendations and take her medications.”
They further alleged: “She refused to go to urgent care or the hospital voluntarily, despite being encouraged to do so by (Summit Malibu).”
Willis, meanwhile, has been left unable to speak, though she can make noises and “move her body somewhat.”
“She remains bedridden due to her neurological injuries,” her lawyer told The Mirror US last year.
