BOSTON — Dr. Gilbert Mudge was cleared Monday in the death of Reggie Lewis, the Boston Celtics star who died shooting baskets two months after Mudge said he had a "normal athlete's heart."
The jury deliberated three days, with their decision coming moments after Judge Thayer Fremont-Smith reduced from 13 to 12 the number of jurors who had to agree on a verdict.
Mudge, a cardiologist, and Lewis' widow, Donna Harris-Lewis, were not in the courtroom when the verdict was read.
An earlier trial exonerated two doctors who consulted with Mudge, but the jury deadlocked while trying to reach a conclusion as to Mudge's liability in Lewis' 1993 death.
Mudge and his wife thanked the jury and the judge.
"We are gratified by their obvious attention to the evidence in deciding this most complex case," the Mudges said in a statement read by his lawyer, William Dailey.
Jurors were asked to decide whether Mudge provided Lewis with substandard care and whether that negligence caused the player's death.
The judge, who presided over both trials, said there was no question in either trial that Mudge was an eminent physician and that Harris-Lewis was a loving and dedicated wife and mother.
"I hope the time has now come when everybody involved in the case can count their many blessings and move on with their lives," he said.
In the first trial, Mudge argued his ability to diagnose Lewis' condition was hindered because the player concealed a history of cocaine use. But the judge instructed this jury it should not consider whether drug use hastened Lewis' death.
Lewis collapsed during an NBA playoff game, and a "dream team" of a dozen doctors diagnosed the problem as a potentially fatal heart arrhythmia. Unhappy with the diagnosis, Lewis went to Mudge.
Mudge said Lewis had a benign fainting disorder and would eventually be able to play basketball "without limitation." But on July 27, Lewis collapsed at the Celtics' practice facility and died.
Mudge said he had not ruled out a heart problem and cautioned Lewis to take his medication and not exert himself — instructions his patient ignored, he said.