Thursday, May 7, 2015

Extreme and Outrageous Conduct?

Since the Supreme Court reversed  the lower court ruling in Snyder v. Westboro Baptist Church, I have been looking for a new example of a fact pattern meeting the "extreme and outrageous conduct" requirement for an Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress claim.  I think there is a new candidate. A Florida man who underwent a lower leg amputation at the hospital was surprised a month later when homicide detectives knocked on his door to ask if there had been any foul play.  It seems that his leg turned up in a landfill.  The police were able to trace it to the victim because it still had the hospital identification tags attached.   Apparently the hospital did not incinerate the leg as was called for by sound medical practice. The victim has filed a suit for IIED claiming, consistent with the language of the Restatement of Torts, conduct that was,"outrageous and beyond the bounds of human decency as to be regarded as odious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community."

According to the Miami Herald, "Doctors Hospital told him 'they would provide no explanation for what had occurred,'according to the lawsuit.The hospital is apparently lacking in the damage control department as well.



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