Experts Are Chosen for Hank Gathers’ Trial

The gamesmanship of the 25 attorneys involved in the legal aftermath in the death ofHank Gathers switched into a higher gear Tuesday, when the sides named experts they willpay to testify on their behalf.

Angel broadcaster Ken Brett, Arizona basketball Coach Lute Olson and NBA scout Marty Blake are three of 41 experts named by Loyola Marymount University, former coach Paul Westhead and 12 other defendants listed in the wrongful-death suit filed by the family of Gathers, the Loyola basketball star who died March 4, 1990. An autopsy listed the cause of death as cardiomyopathy, a heart disorder.

The plaintiffs named 11 experts, among them executives of the NBA Players Assn.

The experts’ testimony will be focused in three areas--the medical aspect of the case, the future Gathers might have had in the NBA or in sports broadcasting, and whether Loyola or Westhead played a role in Gathers’ death. That aspect would include psychological analysis.

The $32.5-million suit, which has been consolidated with another suit filed on behalf of Gathers’ 8-year old son, Aaron Crump, is scheduled for trial Sept. 3 in the Torrance branch of L.A. County Superior Court. But several pending motions could change the date and configuration of the trial, including which plaintiffs can sue, the defendants who can be sued and the number of causes the plaintiffs can sue for.

Since the suit was filed 14 months ago, no serious settlement talks have been held. However, Bruce Fagel, attorney for the Gathers family, said he made a settlement proposal that was rejected by the defendants. Fagel, at a news conference Tuesday, said he offered to settle for $4 million to $5 million from Loyola and for $300,000 each from the five doctors named in the suit.