Adult film star Emily Willis was awarded $3 million last week after she and her mother brought a lawsuit against the Summit Malibu rehabilitation facility following a medical emergency that left her permanently disabled.
The former Penthouse Pet of the Month, who has won multiple awards from AVN, XBIZ, XRCO and Pornhub, was found unconscious at the Summit Malibu facility in February 2024. According to reports, after a nurse performed CPR, paramedics arrived and it took over 30 minutes to restore her pulse, causing an anoxic brain injury.
Judge Susan Bryant-Deason of Santa Monica Superior Court approved the settlement for Willis, who can no longer manage her own affairs. Willis, whose legal name is Litzy Banuelos, and her mother, Yesenia Lara Cooper, filed the suit which describes her as unable to move her body, only occasionally opening her eyes or grunting.
Her attorney James A. Morris Jr. adds that the actress likely has locked-in syndrome — a rare neurological disorder that causes total paralysis of all voluntary muscles leaving those affected unable to speak or move.
Though Summit Malibu denied wrongdoing, stating that Willis repeatedly refused medical advice, declined prescribed medications, and rejected recommendations, the settlement amount was agreed to by both parties. Willis was being treated at the facility for ketamine addiction.
Court papers also called out a ‘horrendous breakdown in clinical care” and stated that the 27-year-old’s “health was ignored until it was too late,” which has caused her life to change “forever.”
Before the tragic events, Willis’ career was seemingly on an upswing, with a role in the 2023 Steven Soderbergh-produced mainstream sci-fi film Divinity and an appearance in the video for metal band Slipknot’s Grammy-nominated song “Hive Mind.” Her Instagram –which has been inactive since 2023– has seen her 1.9 million-count fanbase checking in and posting well wishes on a regular basis.
