Gathers’ Death Brings Forth Second Suit : Aftermath: Multimillion-dollar suit filed on behalf of Gathers’ son and estate. It will probably be combined with original suit.

Attorneys representing the son and estate of Hank Gathers filed a multimillion-dollar suit Friday, claiming that the former basketball star died because of negligence by doctors and Loyola Marymount officials who conspired by concealing medical information to ensure Gathers would continue playing for the school.

Gathers, a Loyola Marymount basketball player, collapsed March 4 at Gersten Pavilion while playing in a West Coast Conference tournament game, and was pronounced dead 1 hour 40 minutes later at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be cardiomyopathy, a heart disorder.

The 36-page complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, names 14 defendants and cites three counts on behalf of Gathers’ estate and four counts on behalf of Aaron Crump, Gathers’ 6-year-old son who lives in Philadelphia with his mother, Marva Crump.

The complaint, which does not list a monetary figure, was filed by Los Angeles probate attorney Ken Wolf and Philadelphia attorneys Martin Krimsky and Adrian Moody. Krimsky, who is the court-appointed administrator of the estate, and Michael Horsey, Aaron’s guardian and a family adviser to Marva Crump, are the plaintiffs.

“You don’t have to put a dollar amount in a complaint to make it look expensive, it’s what you prove at trial,” Wolf said. “We know, though, that we are asking more than a million dollars by just looking at the wrongful death claim from the estate’s standpoint, as well as the other claims. How high is high?”

The 14 defendants in the suit are Loyola Marymount University and four Loyola employees--Athletic Director Brian Quinn, Coach Paul Westhead, trainer Chip Schaefer and Dr. Dan Hyslop of the university’s health services.

Doctors named are Michael Mellman and his company, Mellman and Moe; cardiologists Vernon Hattori and Charles Swerdlow and their company, Apex Cardiology Consultants; Ralph Gambardella, Clarence Shields and Benjamin Schaeffer, all Loyola team physicians supplied by the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, which was also named.

This is the second suit in the aftermath of Gathers death against these same defendants. On April 20, a $32.5-million suit was filed by Beverly Hills attorney Bruce Fagel on behalf of Gathers’ mother, Lucille, brothers Derrick and Charles, and an aunt, Carol Livingston. Wolf said a motion will be filed shortly to consolidate the two suits.

Westhead has previously denied all allegations against him. Loyola attorney Martin L. Burke also said previously that the “University and its members will be fully vindicated.”

One of the counts--charging negligence by all defendants--asks the estate be paid $1 million for a Lloyd’s of London policy in the same amount Gathers bought his junior year in college. The policy, which would have paid Gathers if he had suffered a medical condition that prevented him from playing competitive basketball, did not include death benefits.

“If Hank would have been properly advised of his condition and properly treated, he would not have played basketball,” Krimsky said from Philadelphia. “And if he would have been given the proper treatment courtside, he would have survived and been able to collect.”

Meanwhile, Wolf said settlement negotiations continue between attorneys for both sides.