Gathers’ Son’s Results Undisclosed

Marva Crump and her son Aaron went to the doctor on Tuesday to learn the results of tests Aaron underwent for a possible heart ailment.

They returned with the information but declined to discuss the results on the advice of an attorney they contacted Monday.

Aaron Crump is the 6-year-old son of Hank Gathers, the Loyola Marymount basketball star who died March 4 after collapsing during a West Coast Conference tournament game at Gersten Pavilion. Gathers had been found to have cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat.

Since a story about Aaron being tested for a possible heart problem was published in The Times on Monday, the Crumps have retained an attorney who has ordered them not to talk about anything related to Gathers’ death, including Aaron’s possible heart condition.

However, a source familiar with the situation said Aaron might undergo further tests.

“I represent the interests of the minor child,” said Adrian J. Moody, a Philadelphia attorney. “At this point we are investigating the situation, and there will be a statement at a later date.”

Moody said he did not know if a suit will be filed. He also said he has not contacted Bruce Fagel, a Beverly Hills attorney who is representing the Gathers family.

Fagel announced Friday at a news conference that a suit would be filed this week. But Tuesday his legal administrator, Trudy Miller, said they would not file for about two weeks.

Miller said they want to give the Gathers family time to recover from the trauma and wait until Loyola’s basketball team ends its season. She also said Fagel has not finished his investigation.

Fagel held a news conference last Friday to respond to a story in The Times that quoted Loyola President Father James N. Loughran as saying he was satisfied with the school’s handling of the incident.

However, Fagel, who also is an emergency room physician, discussed at length whom he is considering naming as defendants.

Meanwhile, Lucille Gathers, Hank Gathers’ mother, remains in stable condition here at Hahnemann University Hospital. She checked into the hospital early Saturday morning complaining of chest pains, according to Phyllis Fisher, a hospital spokesperson.

She was permitted by doctors to leave the hospital to attend her son’s funeral Monday. But about two hours into the service, she left the church and returned to the hospital.

Times staff writer Elliott Almond contributed to this story from Los Angeles.