Widow of Bernie Mac Drops Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Attorneys for the widow of comedian Bernie Mac have dropped a wrongful death lawsuit against a Chicago dermatologist who treated Mac three weeks before his death in 2008.

The suit was dropped for unspecified reasons, but Cannon Lambert, one of widow Rhonda McCullough’s lawyers, said, “We’ll be looking at re-filing.”

Mac was diagnosed with pneumonia the same day he had an appointment at the clinic of Dr. Earles. McCullough’s lawyers alleged in the suit that the delay of the appointment postponed emergency care at a hospital, leading to his death.

Mike Prangle, a lawyer for Earles, said that his client had no idea that Mac had been diagnosed with pneumonia by another doctor.

“Had Dr. Earles known Bernie had been diagnosed with pneumonia, he would have immediately sent him to the hospital,” Prangle said.