2/11/2008

in

The relatives of actor John Ritter met in court today for the start of a wrongful death trial.

Susie Kopecky

Today marked the beginning of a wrongful death suit by the relatives of actor John Ritter. Ritter died in late 2003, after going to a hospital suffering from what was thought to be a heart attack. The doctors present responded to Ritter's condition, but Ritter, 54, still passed away. It was later discovered that Ritter was suffering from a tear in the aorta. The Associated Press reports that Ritter's family and widow, actress Amy Yasbeck of *Robin Hood: Men in Tights*, is suing the hospital where Ritter died, for $67 million. The Ritter family's attorney blamed the physicians for the death, saying, "Because they didn't get the chest X-ray, they gave him the wrong treatment." A defense attorney representing one of the physicians maintained that the doctors did nothing wrong, responding to what they believed was the problem. No end date for the trial has been announced and is not yet expected. Ritter's sudden death occurred while he was starring in the hit sitcom, *8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter*.