Actor John Ritter's Death Spurs Lawsuit
Posted by
Dan FrithFebruary 04, 2008 10:48 AMComic actor John Ritter's widow says a wrongful death lawsuit going to trial Monday is more about seeking accountability and educating the public about the condition that killed him than the $67 million in damages she is seeking from two doctors.
On Sept. 11, 2003, his daughter's fifth birthday, Ritter experienced severe nausea and vomiting and went to went to nearby St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, California. Ritter's cardiologist, and a defendant in the lawsuit, Dr. Joseph Lee thought results of a test showed abnormalities consistent with a heart attack. The doctor ordered anticoagulants and planned a cardiac catheterization. But as the actor's condition worsened, an aortic dissection -- a tear in the largest blood vessel in the body was found. Ritter was dead less than 5 hours after arriving at the hospital's emergency room.
California regulators faulted the hospital for failing to perform a chest x-ray during Ritter's stay, which was ordered by an emergency room doctor. Ritter's wife believes a chest x-ray would have lead to the diagnosis of her husband's aortic dissection.
The American Heart Association describes an aortic dissection as when the inner layer of the aorta -- the artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body -- splits open. It is likely to occur where pressure on the artery wall from blood flow is high.
Symptoms of acute aortic dissection include sudden chest pain, often described as severe and tearing, along with cold sweats and nausea. The peak age for males suffering from the disease is 50-55. Ritter was one week short of his 55th birthday when he died.
Jury selection starts this week.