Amy Yasbeck is on her own now, and it shouldn't be that way.
So said the attorney who's trying to convince a jury that two doctors failed to prevent John Ritter's Sept. 11, 2003, death from a tear in his aorta in what he called "clearly a case of malpractice."
"You can't run away from the reality that John Ritter did not have to die," Moses Lebovits said in Glendale Superior Court Wednesday, concluding his closing argument in the $67 million wrongful death case Ritter's family has brought against cardiologist Dr. Joseph Lee and radiologist Dr. Matthew Lottysch.
Lee treated Ritter at Burbank's Providence St. Joseph Medical Center the night he died, while Lottysch analyzed a body scan performed on the actor at a separate facility in 2001.
Ritter's family, which has already received $14 million in settlements, including $9 million from the hospital, is arguing that Lee's decision to treat Ritter for a heart attack ate up precious time that otherwise could have been used to save him, and that Lottysch failed to inform Ritter of any preexisting heart condition.
Lee has maintained that Ritter's death was, simply and sadly, unpreventable. There was no way he could have survived, regardless of the course of treatment delivered upon his arrival at the hospital after falling ill on the nearby Eight Simple Rules set.
And Lottysch testified that he did not detect an enlarged aorta when he saw Ritter two years before his death. He said he told the former Three's Company star he saw calcification in three coronary arteries and that he was at risk for heart disease. He recommended Ritter consult a cardiologist or internist.
"We're not saying John Ritter was negligent and caused his own death," Lotysch's attorney, Stephen Fraser, said in his closing statement Wednesday, referring to other witness' testimony that Ritter never followed up on the radiologist's recommendation.
"There was nothing that could have been done to prevent John Ritter from having an aortic dissection," Fraser said. "He didn't have it because he failed to do follow-up or didn't take his medication…This was a rare presentation of a rare disease."
Meanwhile, Lee's attorney, John McCurdy, said his client had to make a split-second decision, and other hospital staff had already determined Ritter was having a heart attack by the time Lee arrived.
"Dr. Lee was reasonable in believing he had a patient who was crashing and could die," McCurdy said. "He had to make a decision and he didn't have a lot of time to make it."
Lebovits has contended that if a chest X-ray was performed, as ordered by an ER doctor who first examined Ritter, they could have discovered the root of the problem.
"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out," Lebovits said in closing Wednesday.
"He would have had surgery. He would have been back at work. He would have survived with his humor and good wit and been entertaining us all."
Yasbeck and family arrived at $67 million by estimating how much Ritter, who with 8 Simple Rules had found a hit sitcom again, would have continued to make working in film and TV over time.
"Amy's got to go to the next step alone," Lebovits continued. "She's lost the love and affection. She's lost the one who was her soul mate."
The jury, which over the last several weeks has listened to emotional testimony from Yasbeck and fellow celebrities such as Ritter's former 8 Simple Rules costar Katy Sagal and longtime pal Henry Winkler, is set to begin deliberations Thursday at 9:30 a.m.