Peter Fonda’s widow has dropped her claims against Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica stemming from the treatment the “Easy Rider” star received at the hospital before his 2019 death at his home.
An attorney for plaintiff Margaret Fonda filed court papers on Thursday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Steven A. Ellis asking that the lawsuit be dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled. Margaret Fonda’s lawyers previously filed court papers dropping several doctors as defendants in the suit, including Dr. Alison C. Garb, who had been the actor’s primary care physician from 2008 until his death.
None of the court papers state whether a settlement was reached with the various defendants or if the case was not being pursued against them for other reasons. However, in court papers filed April 3, Margaret Fonda’s attorneys stated they had offered to settle the entire case for the insurance policy limits of one of the other doctors sued.
The medical malpractice/wrongful death complaint was filed in August 2020 and stated that Peter Fonda underwent a CT scan for an aspirated object and that the test revealed a spiculated nodule in the left lung which was a primary source of lung cancer. The results were not provided to Garb and the actor died at his Los Angeles home on Aug. 16, 2019, at age 79, according to the suit.
Hospital attorneys offered the sworn declaration of Dr. James Leo to address the level of care given Fonda by the Providence St. John’s nursing staff. Leo is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine with a subspecialty certification in critical care medicine.
“Based on my review of the materials as well as my education, training and experience, it is my opinion that the nursing staff at Providence Saint John’s Health Center at all times met the standard of care in the community with regard to the care and treatment provided to Mr. Fonda,” according to Leo.
Peter Fonda was an actor, director and screenwriter from a family of Hollywood stars. Other films in which he starred included “Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry” and “Wanda Nevada.”
Peter Fonda was the only son of the late Academy Award-winning Henry Fonda and was the younger brother of actress Jane Fonda. He had two children who also are actors — a son, 57-year-old Justin Fonda, and a daughter, 59-year-old Bridget Fonda, both by Susan Brewer, his first of three wives. He and Brewer married in 1961 and divorced in 1974.