Bob Saget’s Family Sues To Stop Public Release Of Death Investigation Records

Actor Bob Saget passed away over a month ago, but his passing is still making headlines.

On February 9, exactly one month after he was found dead in his hotel room in Florida, an autopsy report determined that he did not pass away from a heart attack or stroke, as most had initially suspected.

Instead, his death was the result of blunt force trauma which caused a brain bleed. Multiple skull fractures were found at the back of his skull and in the front of his skull just above his eyes, according to reports. There were abrasions on the back of his skull as well, leading to questions about how he hitting his head on the back of his headboard before getting into bed, as theorized, could cause such significant damage.

Although the medical examiner’s office ruled the death accidental, plenty of people still have questions and want his medical records made public to help with the investigation. There’s only one problem with that: his family says no.

Saget’s widow, Kelly Rizzo, and his three daughters – Aubrey, Lara, and Jennifer – have filed a lawsuit against Orange County Sheriff John Mina and the District Nine Medical Examiner’s Office to prevent the release of documents and photographs related to his death.

His family is requesting that all reports, audio, video recordings, and photographs, about Saget’s death be exempt from public record requests. The suit claims that “no legitimate public interest would be served by the release or dissemination of the records to the public.”

They say that the release of that information “would cause irreparable harm in the form of extreme mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress.”

His family has asked the court for a temporary injunction before it makes an official ruling. If the court rules in the family’s favor, those records will permanently be blocked from the public.

After it was made public that the “Full House” star died of head trauma, his family issued a statement regarding his passing.

“In the weeks since Bob’s passing, we have been overwhelmed with the incredible outpouring of love from Bob’s fans, which has been a great comfort to us and for which we are eternally grateful,” they began. “Now that we have the final conclusions from the authorities’ investigation, we felt it only proper that the fans hear those conclusions directly from us.”

“The authorities have determined that Bob passed from head trauma,” they continued. “They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved.”

“As we continue to mourn together, we ask everyone to remember the love and laughter that Bob brought to this world, and the lessons he taught us all: to be kind to everyone, to let the people you love know you love them, and to face difficult times with hugs and laughter,” they concluded.

In the video above, you can watch CNN Chief Medical Correspondent and neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta explain his own take on the information that has already been made available to the public. Dr. Gupta explained that the injury was “not a simple bump on the head.” He called it “a very significant blow to the head” and said that “it takes a lot of force” to cause fractures on both the front and the back of the head, as displayed in a computer model.

“When I first saw this, if I knew nothing else about what happened, you would think that this was someone who had fallen down the stairs and had several impacts to the head or been unrestrained in a car accident,” he said.

“Whatever happened here, we may never know the exact, like, how he fell or what happened, but it was a significant blow,” he continued. “Likely, the bleeding on top of the brain […] is likely causing pressure on the brain and subsequently, sadly, led to him becoming unconscious and then dying.”

Former Assistant US Attorney Richard Signorelli tweeted, “No wrongdoing found. Something doesn't make sense given his severe head injuries.”

He continued, “‘This is significant trauma,’ said Dr. Gavin Britz, the chair in neurosurgery at Houston Methodist. ‘This is something I find with someone with a baseball bat to the head, or who has fallen from 20 or 30 feet.’”

He added, “Dr. Britz noted that the autopsy described fractures to particularly thick parts of the skull, as well as to bones in the roof of the eye socket. ‘If you fracture your orbit,’ he said, referring to those eye bones, ‘you have significant pain.’”

Trauma physician Dr. Megan Ranney tweeted, “Hi. ICYMI: This is not a 'slip & fall.' This is not a minor concussion. This is MAJOR head trauma. My condolences to Saget's friends & family. I hope that they get answers as to what really happened.”

She later added, “PS: this doesn't mean it was INTENTIONAL trauma either. But this is more than just 'I whacked my head on the kitchen cabinet.'”