A law firm that has defended celebrities involved in civil suits is now going to bat on behalf of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in its fight against litigation brought by long-time Hollywood figure Ed McMahon.

The former sidekick to talk show host Johnny Carson sued the hospital on July 18, claiming doctors failed to diagnose his broken neck after a fall and discharged him without taking an X-ray. McMahon, 85, also claims Cedars-Sinai botched two spine operations, causing him months of discomfort and pain.

But lawyers from the Los Angeles law firm of La Follette, Johnson, De Haas, Fesler & Ames — who have represented such Hollywood figures as Lindsay Lohan and Keanu Reeves when they were sued by a bus boy and a celebrity photographer, respectively — maintain in court papers filed Wednesday that most of the allegations are long on rhetoric and short on facts.

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