Emily Willis’ family has reached a $3 Million settlement with the Malibu rehab facility where the former adult film star suffered catastrophic brain damage and was left permanently disabled.
On July 15, a Santa Monica judge approved a $3 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by former adult performer Emily Willis’ mother and legal guardian against Malibu Lighthouse Treatment, the company that owns the exclusive Southern California rehab center Summit Malibu.
Willis’ mom and legal guardian, Yesenia Cooper, sued Malibu Lighthouse Treatment in 2024, claiming the facility failed to properly care for Emily while she was being treated for ketamine addiction at Summit Malibu earlier that year.
According to court docs, Emily is expected to receive approximately $1.25 Million after attorneys’ fees and liens, while her mom will continue serving as her conservator.
The defendants denied wrongdoing and did not admit liability.
Her family’s lawsuit called the incident “a horrendous breakdown in clinical care,” alleging missed signs of severe distress and failure to follow standard medical protocols, while Summit Malibu and parent Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers denied wrongdoing and said she repeatedly refused recommended treatment.
“She needed very, very intense medical treatment. They didn’t diagnose that upon entry, nor did they monitor carefully enough how quickly she was digressing,” Morris told PornCrush.
“Had the staff followed standard medical protocols, Emily would have had the opportunity to regain control of her life,” James A. Morris, Jr, the attorney representing Willis and her guardian, told the Mirror.
Attorney Morris added more detail about the facility’s failures.
“They should’ve transferred her to a hospital earlier and let the doctors put a feeding tube in her and treat her properly while she was still (coherent) and speaking and walking,” Morris said to the outlet. “Instead, they allowed her to have a say in her medical treatment, which is not what you do with somebody who is in severe health danger. She was in a very brittle place.”
“Fortunately, Litzy is improving, although be it slow and arduous. Litzy is a fighter and is committed to returning to a functional lifestyle that will ease any burden on others to care for her,” Morris said about her current health.
Summit Malibu disputed the allegations in court filings.
Summit Malibu’s lawyers previously claimed in court docs that Willis ‘had refused to follow medical recommendations and take her medications’. They said Willis declined the staff’s recommendation that she be transported to a hospital prior to suffering the heart attack, claiming: “She refused to go to urgent care or the hospital voluntarily, despite being encouraged to do so.”
In court filings, the facility argued that Willis had repeatedly refused to accept medical help but was monitored during her stay at the rehab.
Meanwhile, the family’s account painted a starkly different picture of events.
In her lawsuit against Malibu Summit, Willis’ mom Cooper accused the facility of “neglect, abandonment, recklessness and negligence in failing to provide care and treatment,” saying that her daughter “suffered irreversible brain damage and permanent physical and mental incapacity, pain, suffering and emotional distress” as a result.
The original incident unfolded over a few critical days in early 2024.
Willis entered Summit Malibu, a rehab facility located near Los Angeles, on Jan. 27, 2024 to seek treatment for an addiction to ketamine, which she had been “ingesting five to six grams per day for a year,” per a complaint initially filed by her mother.
The complaint alleged that rehab workers neglected to respond to Willis’ declining condition in the following days, including when she was documented in facility records with “hot/cold chills, headaches, hand tremors, increased heart rate, night sweats, sensitivity to light and unkempt appearance and hygiene.”
The 15-time AVN Award winner’s condition worsened until Feb. 4, 2024, when she was found unconscious in her room. Paramedics performed CPR for 30 to 40 minutes before her pulse returned and she was rushed to a local hospital, per the suit.
Her own attorney, James A. Morris Jr., acknowledged in court filings that the case “was no slam dunk” and that no one knows exactly what happened before she stopped breathing, or whether the facility could have prevented her injuries.
Willis is now 27 and lives with her mother in Utah.
Willis “remains bedridden due to her neurological injuries,” the attorney said. He also confirmed that she is still unable to talk but can still make outward noises and can “move her body somewhat.”
Willis — once an AVN Female Performer of the Year — now lives at her mother’s home in Utah, receiving round-the-clock care.