Dad testifies in Vegas golfer wrongful death case
FILE - This May 19, 2010 file photo shows a portrait of LPGA golfer Erica Blasberg displayed at her memorial service at Eagle Glen Golf Club in Corona, Calif. Jury selection is entering a third day in Las Vegas Wednesday, May 7, 2014, in a civil wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit against a Nevada physician who found the body of womenÕs professional golfer Blasberg after she committed suicide in May 2010. Dr. Thomas Hess pleaded guilty in late 2010 to a misdemeanor obstruction charge for removing a suicide note and prescription medications from Blasberg's home in Henderson before police arrived to investigate her death. BlasbergÕs father, Mel Blasberg, accuses the 46-year-old Hess of having an inappropriate personal relationship with the 25-year-old golfer, and of failing to provide proper medical care before she died. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
LAS VEGAS >> The father of the late LPGA golfer Erica Blasberg testified that he knows a Las Vegas doctor he’s suing in a civil wrongful death case didn’t kill his daughter.
But Mel Blasberg made it clear Thursday that he blames Dr. Thomas Hess for pursuing a romantic relationship with his troubled 25-year-old daughter before she committed suicide in May 2010.
Mel Blasberg told a Clark County District Court jury he sometimes had a strained relationship with his daughter as her father and coach.
But he declared that he doesn’t think doctors can ever take off their white coat and be friends with a patient.
Blasberg’s parents seek unspecified damages from Hess, who removed a suicide note and some medications after finding Erica Blasberg’s body.
Hess denies the two had a romantic relationship.
