More On John Ritter's Wrongful Death Suit

[LuLu Rogers]

Found this article this morning:

Ritter's Widow Talks "Sad" Truth About Death

by Natalie Finn

Doctors have said that it was only a matter of time before John Ritter's heart gave out. The late actor's wife, however, believes he may have been robbed of his remaining time.

Former Wings star Amy Yasbeck, who was married to Ritter for four years, is moving forward with a malpractice lawsuit against two doctors, one who met with her husband two years before his death and one who unsuccessfully treated him on Sept. 11, 2003 for what turned out to be a preexisting heart condition that wasn't diagnosed until it was too late.

Yasbeck says that none of the facilities that treated Ritter nor the doctors or other personnel involved has admitted any wrongdoing or apologized. She's planning to remedy that.

"You can't treat my kid's dad for something and kill him in the process," the actress told the Los Angeles Times in a recent interview. "I think the money will show how angry the jury will be about what happened to John and what could happen to them."

Yasbeck has already settled up with Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where Ritter died, for $9.4 million and received more than $4 million from other civil-suit targets. But now she's going after radiologist Matthew Lotysch and cardiologist Joseph Lee for more than $67 million in damages.

Ritter's untapped earning potential merits such an abnormally high sum, Yasbeck's lawyer says, especially considering he had recently found sitcom success again with ABC's 8 Simple Rules.

The Emmy winner was on the set of his new show when he became dizzy and experienced nausea and chest pains.

He arrived at St. Joseph's emergency room at about 6 p.m. Various tests were run and, at first, doctors at figured that Ritter had suffered a heart attack and administered anticoagulants, a standard mode of treatment.

When they tried to insert a cardiac catheter, however, Ritter's condition deteriorated and doctors discovered a preexisting condition—sizable aortic dissection, or, a tear in the aorta, which is the largest blood vessel in the body. The condition can be fatal if the aorta ruptures or blood flow is blocked to the coronary arteries.

Attempts to revive him failed and Ritter was pronounced dead at 10:48 p.m. No autopsy was performed.

He died on his daughter Stella's fifth birthday and a week shy of both his 55th birthday and his fourth wedding anniversary.

Yasbeck says she was told afterward that nothing could have been done to save the former Three's Company star.

"The doctors told it to me like I was five, and I told it to her like she was five," she said. "The truth is, it's a lot more complicated and it's a lot more sad."

While the hospital was cited the following month by state regulators for various lapses in care, including the failure to take the chest X-ray that had been ordered by an ER doctor, lawyers for the specialists who remain in the crosshairs maintain that Ritter's heart was a ticking time-bomb.

"I really, really believe that for whatever reason, John Ritter's time was up," Lotysch's attorney, Stephen C. Fraser, told the Times. Yasbeck's camp claims that the radiologist should have noticed Ritter's enlarged aorta when he gave him a full body scan in 2001 at HealthScan America.

"I'm comfortable that a reasonable juror would understand that Dr. Lee was between a rock and a hard spot and had to make a judgment call," added lawyer John McCurdy, who represents the cardiologist.

Yasbeck's attorneys are arguing that the chest X-ray probably would have revealed Ritter's enlarged aorta and surgery could have been performed immediately. The issue at hand is whether doctors jumped the gun by treating him for a heart attack and whether his symptoms were pointing definitively in that direction.

As for the unusually large chunk of change Yasbeck is asking for, she told the Times that the upcoming trial will be about more than money. She'll handle the inevitable digging that the defendants will do into her finances and Ritter's health, she said.

"It's never comfortable, but the idea of the awareness that this brings to the issue trumps that," the actress said. "My discomfort is nothing compared to people who are losing their family to aortic dissection. I can be uncomfortable for however long the trial goes. I'm ready."

Copyright 2008 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All rights reserved.

[TripperFan]

Whether Amy wins or not (I'm sure it's not a money issue) I'm just glad she is moving on with this and continuing to have it investigated and kept in the media. She can't bring John back, but maybe it will help save some lives in the process. John would be proud of her.

[LuLu Rogers]

Originally Posted by TripperFan

Whether Amy wins or not (I'm sure it's not a money issue) I'm just glad she is moving on with this and continuing to have it investigated and kept in the media. She can't bring John back, but maybe it will help save some lives in the process. John would be proud of her.

I couldn't agree more. She wants to make sure that other people don't have to go through this and I think that's very noble of her. I agree that John would definately be proud of her.

[sunshinefizzy]

You know, I read stories about how John would go out of his way to help people when he was alive. And he's still going out of his way even in heaven. I read a story in Woman's World and this woman heard about John's story and went to go get herself checked out, if she not had gone, she wouldn't be here now! Incredible.

[Dean Winchester]

I'm just curious that why is she doing this all of a sudden now? John's death was very sad and unexpected, but when your times up, it's up. If you look at the last 8SR episodes before his death, you could see he was not a well man, his weight had ballooned and he was looking tired. People forever hold the image of Jack Tripper in their memory when they think about John, but he looked somewhat ill at the time of his passing.

I feel for Amy and their daughter (and Jason and the other kids he had from his first marriage) but sometimes there's nothing you can do to stop it from happening.

[Pavan]

It is not all of a sudden. They have been in a battle with them since late 2003. They settled with the hospital in 2004. One process at a time.

[SBTB Geek]

It's all about money. They're asking $64 mil in a wrongful death suit... that is absolutely absurd.

I like this L.A. Times article, btw: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...ck=1&cset=true

[Dean Winchester]

Originally Posted by SBTB Geek

It's all about money. They're asking $64 mil in a wrongful death suit... that is absolutely absurd.

I like this L.A. Times article, btw: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...ck=1&cset=true

I agree. She's already received $14 million in wrongful death, why does she need $64 million more?

[SBTB Geek]

^Greed. She can't adjust to a new lifestyle or the neighbors must be talking.

[Dean Winchester]

if she's that hard up for cash, why not start acting again? According to her IMDB, she's only done a few guest appearences since John's death. She was decent on Wings, surely somebody would hire her.

[LuLu Rogers]

I can't believe what I'm reading It has nothing to do with money, it's called Justice for crying out loud!

[Dean Winchester]

Originally Posted by TrapperandHawkeye'sBaby

I can't believe what I'm reading It has nothing to do with money, it's called Justice for crying out loud!

Amy's already received $14 million over this. $14 million is not exactly chump change.

If you look at it with objectivity and not fixate on the fact that you loved him on Three's Company, you can understand why a lot of people think Amy's just being greedy (check out the IMDB boards as well, a lot of people are calling her a gold digger). If John Ritter wasn't a beloved tv actor, but a construction worker or something and died the same way, the widow likely would've never even seen $14 million, and she would've taken the "pitiful" settlement and been fine with it.

What exactly do you consider justice if you think $14 million isn't anywhere enough to satisfy what you think Amy deserves?

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

Though it does seem like an excessive amount of money, I dont' think that's the reasoning behind all of this. Amy and the whole family seem like genuinely good people. I'm sure there's more to the case that many of us don't even know about and she's just trying to fix it. And like Pavan said, this has been going on since right after he died. It's not like she can't get over it.

[TripperFan]

Originally Posted by TrapperandHawkeye'sBaby

I can't believe what I'm reading It has nothing to do with money, it's called Justice for crying out loud!

Exactly! People are already assuming that she's going to keep every dime she wins. Did anyone ever think that she may well use it to build a centre for heart patients or research, etc.? Give a gal a break and a chance here folks. Amy has never striked me as the type to be a gold digger. She was gorgegous and probably could have landed a lot more wealthy man in Hollywood than John was.

While John was well off, lets face it, he wouldn't have been in any "Tom Cruise" category, etc.. She's been living that lifestyle just fine thank you.

I've read articles about this since the beginning and this was her plan all along when it came to light that there was some negligence on the side of the hospital. John had only been to his doctor a week or two before. If he was looking so ill as you say, then the doctor should have picked up on that more than a fan wouldn't you think?

As for the exorborant amount of the case, the lawyers do that - it explains what John's earning ability could have been and calculates in other punitive damages. They rarely get the full amount and know that going into court. Believe me, that's why it costs doctors a fortune in insurance costs.

[TripperFan]

Originally Posted by *Pleasant Tomorrow*

Though it does seem like an excessive amount of money, I dont' think that's the reasoning behind all of this. Amy and the whole family seem like genuinely good people. I'm sure there's more to the case that many of us don't even know about and she's just trying to fix it. And like Pavan said, this has been going on since right after he died. It's not like she can't get over it.

With a small child left behind and him dying so young after seeing his doctors - I don't think I'd be ready to let go either. I'll never judge a widow. To me, she's seeking the truth and justice and I don't blame her one bit.