Trial Over John Ritter's Death Begins

Glendale, CAThe lawyer representing John Ritter's family told the jury on Monday that he would prove that the death of John Ritter was caused by doctors administering inadequate treatment and making a wrong diagnosis.

It was September 11, 2003 that an aortic dissection, which is a tear in the aorta, took John Ritter's life at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. It is said that when Ritter was taken to the hospital, he was treated for a heart attack, which was not adequate treatment for his condition. This alleged mistake has led Ritter's family to sue the two doctors who treated Ritter for $67 million. There have been previous settlements with eight other medical employees and the hospital that has amounted to $14 million.

Ritter was only 54 at the time of his death and acting in the series"8 Simple Rules...For Dating My Teenager Daughter."

Ritter's widow, Amy Yasbeck, was emotional during the opening statement by her lawyer to the jury.

The lawsuit claims that Dr. Matthew Lotysch, the radiologist who had allegedly become aware of Ritter's enlarging aorta two years before his death, failed to provide Ritter with this vital information. The lawsuit also alleges that cardiologist Dr. Joseph Lee did not order the correct tests to diagnose the condition. Amongst those tests that should have been administered was a chest X-ray that Lee did not order prior to treating Ritter for a heart attack. The attorney representing Ritter's family, Moses Lebovits, has argued that if Ritter had received the right treatment, he could have had surgery that night that would have saved his life and would have only taken six to eight weeks for him to recover. Such a procedure would not have affected Ritter's life expectancy.

The Attorney for Dr. Matthew Lotysch, Stephen Fraser, stated in his opening statement that the doctors being sued in the wrongful death suit were not responsible for the death of the actor. He told the jury that nothing could have been done because images taken of Ritter's heart showed a normal sized aorta with no indication of dissection. Frasher stated that Ritter was treated in a way that was appropriate for someone having a heart attack, which is what appeared to be having. When Dr. Lee arrived on the case, Ritter was already having an acute heart attack. John McCurdy, Lee's Attorney, states that the heart attack was due to the dissecting aorta.

On Wednesday, Henry Winkler testified in the case that John Ritter seemed to be very healthy and that he had not noticed anything wrong with Ritter on the day he died. However, Winkler did state that Ritter started sweating and they parted ways so Ritter could get a drink of water. That was the last time Winkler saw Ritter alive.

Winkler's testimony gave the jury an idea as to who John Ritter was as a person, but the defense attorneys did not cross-examine Winkler because they have no doubt that he was an upstanding person. There are other witnesses expected to testify in the case, which could make this wrongful death suit a star-studded event. The testimony of these high profile figures is Yasbeck's effort to obtain the lost salary that she feels her husband could have made on "8 Simple Rules" had he not passed due to alleged medical negligence.

Amongst the high profile figures are Touchstone Studio and ABC studio executives who are set to testify that Ritter's new show could have possibly run for a total of seven seasons, which would have made Ritter the $67 million that Yasbeck and her attorneys are seeking.

By Ginger Gillenwater