I know, I know, he died in 2003, but if you think the whole situation surrounding the unexpected death of the much loved sitcom star ended in 2003, you would be wrong.
John was on the set of his show “8 Simple Rules” when he collapsed on September 11, 2003. He was taken across the street to the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, but died just hours later of an aortic dissection.
The problem that keeps this case alive is the doctors treated John for a heart attack. After all, a heart attack had taken his father at the age of 68. John’s widow Amy contends that because of that, John was concerned about his health.
Amy filed a wrongful death suit against the radiologist, Dr. Matthew Lotysch and the cardiologist, Dr. Joseph Lee. She says that Dr. Lee misdiagnosed John’s condition and that if it had been properly detected, it might have saved John’s life. She claimed Dr. Lotysch did a full body scan on John in 2001, but failed to detect the enlarged aorta. Amy had previously sued eight other medical personnel and the hospital and won $14 million.
The trial is now underway and the attorneys for the doctors have given the jury a different view of the situation. They are saying there is no way John could have been saved and that the doctors involved in the case acted properly. Attorney Stephen C. Fraser insists that the doctors did the best they could in situation given the amount of time they had to make the diagnosis.
There has been testimony during the trial that shows a chest X-ray was ordered when John arrived in the emergency room, yet was never done. I also heard somewhere that chest X-rays were done, but John asked to be registered at the hospital under the name of Edwin Marcus, so that prevented the chest X-ray from being done.
The trial is something Amy started, but apparently, it is wearing on her as you might imagine. She collapsed in tears during the trial when her lawyer spoke of her loss. Another sad footnote to this whole situation is John died on his daughter Stella’s fifth birthday.
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