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<span style="font-weight: bold">Soldier's mother sues government</span>
Joan Najbar of Duluth, who addressed a letter to her son in Iraq three years ago, has filed a lawsuit to determine how the letter came back with a "deceased" stamp.
By: Mark Stodghill, Duluth News Tribune
A Duluth peace activist is suing the federal government and the U.S. Postal Service for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress after a letter she mailed to her soldier son in Iraq was allegedly returned to her with the word “Deceased’’ stamped in red ink on the envelope.
Joan Najbar filed the suit Nov. 5 in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis claiming that she has suffered severe emotional distress that has required her to seek medical treatment and caused her to suffer a loss of income. She asks for a monetary award to be determined at trial on the basis of her emotional distress and loss of income resulting from her fear for her own safety and from her fear for the safety of her son.
Her son, Sam Eininger, was stationed with the Army in Iraq for more than 22 months during 2006 and 2007, according to the lawsuit.
Najbar claims that she addressed a letter to her son and dropped it in a U.S. Post Office blue drop box at 13th Avenue East in Duluth on Sept. 29, 2006. On Oct. 13, 2006, the letter was returned to her by the postal service. The envelope containing her letter was stamped in red in with the word “Deceased.’’
Najbar said she was unsure whether her son was dead or alive until she contacted the Red Cross and that agency was able to inform her that her son had not been killed.
At the time the letter to her son was returned to her, Najbar was receiving medical treatment from a psychiatrist, her suit states. The returned “Deceased’’ letter exacerbated her pre-existing condition by causing her to fear for her own safety and well-being and causing her to fear for the safety and well-being of her son, the suit alleges.
Neither Najbar nor her Minneapolis attorney, Jeff Eckland, could be reached for comment Monday.
When asked about the Najbar incident in 2006, spokesmen with the Army and the postal service told the News Tribune that they would never mark a letter “Deceased’’ and return it.
The government’s answer to Najbar’s suit has not yet been filed.
In July 2008, Najbar filed with the postal service a claim for injuries. On Oct. 3, 2008, she received a denial of her claim.
“An investigation of this matter failed to establish a negligent act or omission on the part of the U.S. Postal Service of its employees,’’ a letter from an accounting and control specialist with the postal service in St. Louis stated. “The postal service Office of Inspector General has conducted an extensive investigation into this matter and has found no evidence of any postal service involvement in this matter other than picking up, transporting and delivering the letter at issue.’’
In April, Najbar retained a Minneapolis law firm to request the postal service to reconsider her claim and to refer it to the Department of the Army as required by law. Najbar’s attorney contends that when more than one federal agency “is or may be involved in the events giving rise to the claim, an agency with which the claim is filed shall contact all other affected agencies in order to designate the single agency which will thereafter investigate and decide the merits of the claim.” That hasn’t been done, Najbar’s suit claims.
In May, the postal service again denied Najbar’s claim. “Based on our investigation of the matter, we find that there is no liability or fault on the part of the government,’’ a supervisor with the postal service’s Tort Claims Accounting Service Center in St. Louis wrote.
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<span style="font-weight: bold">Soldier's mother sues government</span>
Joan Najbar of Duluth, who addressed a letter to her son in Iraq three years ago, has filed a lawsuit to determine how the letter came back with a "deceased" stamp.
By: Mark Stodghill, Duluth News Tribune
A Duluth peace activist is suing the federal government and the U.S. Postal Service for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress after a letter she mailed to her soldier son in Iraq was allegedly returned to her with the word “Deceased’’ stamped in red ink on the envelope.
Joan Najbar filed the suit Nov. 5 in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis claiming that she has suffered severe emotional distress that has required her to seek medical treatment and caused her to suffer a loss of income. She asks for a monetary award to be determined at trial on the basis of her emotional distress and loss of income resulting from her fear for her own safety and from her fear for the safety of her son.
Her son, Sam Eininger, was stationed with the Army in Iraq for more than 22 months during 2006 and 2007, according to the lawsuit.
Najbar claims that she addressed a letter to her son and dropped it in a U.S. Post Office blue drop box at 13th Avenue East in Duluth on Sept. 29, 2006. On Oct. 13, 2006, the letter was returned to her by the postal service. The envelope containing her letter was stamped in red in with the word “Deceased.’’
Najbar said she was unsure whether her son was dead or alive until she contacted the Red Cross and that agency was able to inform her that her son had not been killed.
At the time the letter to her son was returned to her, Najbar was receiving medical treatment from a psychiatrist, her suit states. The returned “Deceased’’ letter exacerbated her pre-existing condition by causing her to fear for her own safety and well-being and causing her to fear for the safety and well-being of her son, the suit alleges.
Neither Najbar nor her Minneapolis attorney, Jeff Eckland, could be reached for comment Monday.
When asked about the Najbar incident in 2006, spokesmen with the Army and the postal service told the News Tribune that they would never mark a letter “Deceased’’ and return it.
The government’s answer to Najbar’s suit has not yet been filed.
In July 2008, Najbar filed with the postal service a claim for injuries. On Oct. 3, 2008, she received a denial of her claim.
“An investigation of this matter failed to establish a negligent act or omission on the part of the U.S. Postal Service of its employees,’’ a letter from an accounting and control specialist with the postal service in St. Louis stated. “The postal service Office of Inspector General has conducted an extensive investigation into this matter and has found no evidence of any postal service involvement in this matter other than picking up, transporting and delivering the letter at issue.’’
In April, Najbar retained a Minneapolis law firm to request the postal service to reconsider her claim and to refer it to the Department of the Army as required by law. Najbar’s attorney contends that when more than one federal agency “is or may be involved in the events giving rise to the claim, an agency with which the claim is filed shall contact all other affected agencies in order to designate the single agency which will thereafter investigate and decide the merits of the claim.” That hasn’t been done, Najbar’s suit claims.
In May, the postal service again denied Najbar’s claim. “Based on our investigation of the matter, we find that there is no liability or fault on the part of the government,’’ a supervisor with the postal service’s Tort Claims Accounting Service Center in St. Louis wrote.
source
There are some interesting comments left to this story. If you're bored you could register and read them.
Let's have a poll!
Comment