Key Takeaways
- Former adult entertainer Emily Willis (Litzy Lara Banuelos) received a court-approved $3 million settlement after an anoxic brain injury at Malibu rehab Summit Malibu in February 2024 left her permanently and profoundly incapacitated at age 25.
- 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.
- The December 2024 suit was settled ahead of a planned May 2026 trial, with attorney fees reduced to $1 million, and Willis — once an AVN Female Performer of the Year — now lives at her mother’s home in Utah, receiving round-the-clock care.
Emily Willis' family have been granted a $3 million settlement after she suffered an anoxic brain injury at a Malibu rehabilitation facility in 2024 leaving her permanently incapacitated.
According to The Independent, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Susan Bryant-Deason signed off on the settlement on behalf of Willis (real name Litzy Lara Banuelos) due to the former adult entertainer being unable to handle her own affairs. Willis' mother, Yesenia Lara Cooper, was a co-plaintiff in the case.
Willis, who was 25 at the time of her hospitalization, was found unresponsive in her room at Summit Malibu on February 4, 2024, where she had been receiving treatment for ketamine addiction.
The woman did not have drugs in her system but was 80 pounds at the time of the medical crisis. A nurse performed CPR on Willis before paramedics arrived and spent an additional 30 to 40 minutes restoring her pulse. The lack of oxygen resulted in irreversible brain damage.
Her legal team described the incident in filings as "a horrendous breakdown in clinical care."
According to Evri Magaci, Summit Malibu and its parent company, Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, denied wrongdoing. In court filings, the facility argued that Willis had repeatedly refused to accept medical help but was monitored during her stay at the rehab.
The lawsuit, filed in December 2024, had been set for trial on May 6, 2026, before the settlement made that proceeding unnecessary. Before approval, Willis' legal team reduced their requested attorney fees from $1.2 million to $1 million.
Following the incident, Willis was relocated from the facility to her mother's home in Utah, where she now receives full-time care. Before her medical crisis, she had been named Penthouse Pet of the Month in May 2019 and won the Adult Video News Female Performer of the Year award in 2021.
