Hospital sued over actor's death

Ritter starred in Eight Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter

The family of US sitcom star John Ritter, who died suddenly of heart problems a year ago, have sued the Los Angeles hospital where he was treated.

Ritter, 54, collapsed on the set of his series Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, dying at the Providence St Joseph Medical Center.

The cause of death was given as a tear of a major coronary artery.

His wife and their four children claim doctors misdiagnosed his condition. They are seeking unspecified damages.

'Untimely death'

They claim the hospital "caused the untimely death... by misdiagnosing his condition and as a consequence, failing to provide proper treatment in connection with an ascending aortic aneurysm that would have saved his life".

Wife Amy Yasbeck and her children are seeking general damages, wrongful death damages, medical expenses and funeral expenses.

Providence St Joseph Medical Center declined to comment on the legal action filed at Los Angeles Superior Court.

Ritter appeared with Jane Curtin (left) and Tyne Daly at 1984's Emmys

"When Mr Ritter was originally admitted to our hospital, his family asked that no information on his illness be released by the hospital," the hospital stated.

"We will continue to honour this request. We extend our deepest and most sincere sympathy to the Ritter family for their loss."

Ritter received three best actor nominations at the prestigious Emmy TV awards for the 1970s comedy series Three's Company, winning once.

Eight Simple Rules, shown on ABC in the US and the Disney channel in the UK, saw a resurgence in Ritter's TV career as he played as a dad struggling to cope with feisty daughters.