Two doctors accused of negligence by the family of late actor John Ritter have been cleared of all charges by a California jury.

A cardiologist and a radiologist, who handled the actor's case in 2003, were sued by Ritter's widow, actress Amy Yasebeck and their children, for missing the diagnosis of a torn aorta in his heart.

The disputed issue was whether doctors at the hospital should have identified his condition when he sought treatment for chest pain that had begun earlier that day while he was on the set of his hit show "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter."

Testimony showed that an X-ray was ordered as soon as Ritter arrived at the emergency room but for unknown reasons it was never done. One of the doctors was called in later in the evening after Ritter was already diagnosed with a heart attack, for which he was treated. The medical personnel only discovered his pre-existing condition shortly before he died.

The jury voted 9-3 to clear Dr. Joseph Lee, the cardiologist, and Dr. Matthew Lotysch, the radiologist, of the negligence claims. Neither doctor was present for the verdict, which was reached on the second day of deliberations and was read quickly. Attorneys said the doctors were at work.

"We felt very strongly that neither Dr. Lotysch nor Dr. Lee did anything wrong in this case," said the jury forewoman, a human resources manager for a mortgage company. She said talks were often heated but the majority was adamant that "we don't believe his life could have been saved."

Eight other medical personnel and the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where Ritter died, previously made settlements with the family totaling $14 million.

"I disagree with the jury's decision but I believe in the system and I respect it," a lawyer for Ritter's widow said while attorney Stephen C. Fraser, who represented Lotysch, credited jurors with being sophisticated and intelligent.

"The system worked and we're very, very happy that they did the right thing," Fraser said.
Yasbeck said she believes that bringing the suit has drawn attention to aortic diseases and the fact that "mistakes like this are made every day."

"It inspires me even more to find, with these brilliant medical minds, a path to diagnose aortic diseases," Yasbeck said. She said she has started a foundation in her husband's name to work in that area.