AELE LAW LIBRARY OF CASE SUMMARIES:
Corrections Law for Jails, Prisons and
Detention Facilities
Emotional Distress
Federal appeals
court orders additional proceedings on whether family members of deceased
inmate suffered severe emotional distress, under Oklahoma law, following
his death, in a case where family members were awarded $1.1 million in
damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act based on alleged outrageous conduct
in failing to disclose the battered condition of his body before shipping
it to them for burial. Trentadue v. Lee, No. 01-6444, 397 F.3d 840 (10th
Cir. 2005). [2005 JB Apr]
Federal appeals court reverses $1.1 million
in emotional distress damages against U.S. government by family of prisoner
who died in federal detention center, based on trial court's failure to
make explicit findings concerning the severity of the family's emotional
distress. Trentadue v. U.S., No. 01-6444, 2004 U.S. App. Lexis 22156(10th
Cir. 2004). [2004 JB Dec]
California prisoner could pursue claims for
intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence against state
and state employees for diagnosing him as having tuberculosis when he was
actually suffering from lung cancer. State of California v. Superior Court
(Bodde), 130 Cal. Rptr. 2d 94 (Cal. App. 5th Dist. 2003). [N/R]
280:52 West
Virginia prisoner could not recover damages from warden for emotional distress
allegedly caused by newspaper's mistaken report that he had died in a prison
fire; prisoner did not show that warden had anything to do with publication
of the information, and Prison Litigation Reform Act barred recovery for
emotional injury in the absence of any showing of physical injury. Orum
v. Haines, 68 F. Supp. 2d 726 (N.D.W.Va. 1999).