Amy Yasbeck, John Ritter's Widow, Fails in Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Two Doctors

A jury has cleared two doctors in the lawsuit brought by Amy Yasbeck, John Ritter's widow, for causing wrongful death. She was suing for $67 million in damages.

Ritter was treated for a heart attack in an emergency room after he suddenly collapsed in the studio. The real cause of his condition was due to a rare aortic dissection, which is a tear in a blood vessel near the heart.

The jury accepted the defence contention that nothing more could have been done to save his life, even had the real condition been discovered.

One of the doctors sued was a radiologist who treated Ritter two years before his death. He was also held blameless. Ritter was warned of his condition but did not follow up on it.

In the course of this celebrity trial, Katy Sagal, Ritter's TV co-star in the series 8 Simple Rules, gave evidence. Henry Winkler, "the Fonz" of Happy Days, also testified. He was doing a guest appearance in Ritter's show and had been rehearsing with Ritter the whole week. He last saw Ritter when Ritter was starting to feel ill and went away for some water.