John Ritter, best known for his role as Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom Three's Company, died aged 54 from an aortic dissection that was initially misdiagnosed as a heart attack. The misdiagnosis led to a negligence claim and wrongful death lawsuits, with several settled out of court for a total of $14 million.
Collapse on the set of 8 Simple Rules
On September 11, a week before his 55th birthday, Ritter was at rehearsals at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California, for the show 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter. While on set, he suddenly felt nausea, was sweating profusely, and complained of chest pains. He then began vomiting.
Ritter was rushed to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Centre, located across the road from the set and, in an eerie twist of fate, the hospital where he was born. He arrived at 6pm, but five hours later his family received the devastating news that he had died.
Misdiagnosis and fatal surgery
A&E doctors initially examined Ritter and were certain he had experienced a heart attack, but they were wrong. His condition worsened swiftly, and medics rushed him into theatre after diagnosing an aortic dissection—a potentially deadly medical emergency where a rupture in the inner wall of the body's main artery causes blood to flood through the arterial layers, essentially ripping them apart. Had the condition been spotted sooner, it was contended, the actor might have survived.
Once the proper diagnosis was reached, Ritter was rushed into surgery, but it proved too late, and he was declared dead at 10:48pm.
Legal action and settlement
Following his death, Ritter's wife, Amy Yasbeck, launched a negligence claim against a Burbank hospital, alongside two separate wrongful death lawsuits against two doctors. One physician had treated Ritter on the evening he died, while the other had examined the results of a body scan conducted in 2001, which showed arterial damage.
Several of these lawsuits were resolved out of court, totalling $14 million, roughly £10 million. Concerning the two doctors, the jury ruled 9–3 in their favour, and both were subsequently cleared of all charges.
Family legacy
Yasbeck has spoken openly about her conviction that her husband would still be alive today had he received the proper diagnosis earlier. She said: "John didn't have a chance. He was never given that chance."
Ritter left behind four children, several of whom followed in his footsteps into acting. His son Jason garnered a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance in Parenthood and has also starred in Joan of Arcadia, Gravity Falls and the film Frozen 2. His other son, Tyler, has made appearances in NCIS, Modern Family and The Mccarthys.
