JOHN RITTER - RITTER'S WIDOW: 'ACTOR WAS REFUSED SECOND OPINION'

RITTER'S WIDOW: 'ACTOR WAS REFUSED SECOND OPINION'

LATEST: Actor JOHN RITTER was denied the right to a second opinion on his heart condition, his widow AMY YASBECK has claimed. Yasbeck and her eldest children are suing two doctors for $67 million (GBP33.5 million) for misdiagnosing the torn aorta that killed the comic star in September 2003, at the age of 54. She claims Ritter's heart condition would have been diagnosed properly if hospital staff had carried out an X-ray. Yasbeck returned to Glendale's Superior Court in California on Monday (03Mar08) to continue her testimony, during which she recalled how her husband had been told he could not get another doctor's opinion on his illness, reports PageSix.com. She claims that when Ritter asked attending cardiologist Dr. Joseph Lee if he could see another doctor, the medic replied, "No, there is no time for a second opinion. You're in the middle of a heart attack." Ritter died of an aortic dissection shortly afterwards.