Broward School Board demands Parkland parents turn over their psychiatric records

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text: Skyler Swisher
@SkylerSwisher
Broward School Board demands Parkland parents turn over their psychiatric records to prove they suffered mental anguish from the school shooting that killed their children.

School Board demands psychiatric records from Parkland parents
Parents and other victims are being asked to prove they suffered mental anguish over the loss of their children in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
sun-sentinel.com

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-ne-parkland-parents-quizzed-20201006-aao3gc6kfbb2baninygogy76wu-story.html

PARKLAND — Their sons and daughters died in the Stoneman Douglas massacre. They sued the Broward School Board, the sheriff and others for the loss of their children.

Now parents and other victims are being asked to turn over their psychiatric records to prove they suffered mental anguish over the tragedy.

The demand, contained in documents filed in lawsuits blaming the Broward school district for failing to identify and stop the threat posed by gunman Nikolas Cruz, has families of the victims enraged.

In formal court responses, School Board member Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter is one of those killed, called the demand “harassing, burdensome” and an invasion of privacy. Alhadeff was elected to the School Board after her daughter’s death.

*snip*

[SheltieLover]

1. Wtaf?

[TheBlackAdder]

29. Once medical records enter a public school setting, they become quasi-public and remain on record.

.

That was what the school nurse at our high school told me. She said to minimize patient records to schools.

Kiss your HIPAA protections goodbye, because you have no idea who or how they could be access in the future.

.

[secondwind]

2. WTF??

This is NOT NORMAL.

[obamanut2012]

7. It is totally SOP

[ZenDem]

3. Fucking evil.

Horrible, heartless, sick...evil.

[Zeitghost]

4. Unfortunatly

That is how lawsuits work. If you're claiming damages based on a medical injury/condition it's not unreasonable that you provide medical records to back it up. If, for example, the case involved a car accident and a neck injury, it would be reasonable to be asked to present x-rays and records detailing the injury.

I feel horrible for the victims, but they are going to need to prove damages if they want to pursue the case.

[marybourg]

6. Mental anguish over loss of a child is presumed.

[onenote]

18. But not the amount of damages.

If the plaintiffs are seeking a particular amount in damages, they can and will be required to provide evidence supporting the amount claimed.

[marybourg]

20. Mental anguish does not include actual monetary loss.

That’s a separate issue.

[onenote]

22. And how do you think damages for mental anguish/emotional distress are determined?

And do you think the defense is not allowed to attempt to counter a demand for damages?

[marybourg]

25. By a jury, using their common sense and empathy.

At least in the states whose laws and procedures I’m familiar with.

[onenote]

26. And in the states whose laws and procedures you're familiar with, do defense counsel simply give up

and do nothing to push back on a claim of emotional distress/mental anguish?

[marybourg]

27. You've moved on from the original topic.

[onenote]

28. Not at all. The topic is the defense's request for discovery on the claim for emotional distress

damages.

Seems like you're avoiding giving an answer as to whether defense attorneys in the states you're familiar with have any way to address a claim for emotional distress damages. Are they allowed to take depositions? Engage in discovery? It's not pleasant, but its what defense lawyers do.

[marybourg]

30. Yes, defense attorneys will use every tactic to avoid

having their clients pay any damages. That’s their job. That doesn’t mean they’re going to prevail. Pain and suffering-type damages, to the self or by representation, by definition cannot be quantified. Actual damages, even if they are speculative, are quantifiable. For instance, “my dead child, when he grew up might have supported me in my old age”. That, though speculative, can be calculated.

This is frustrating, and is why publicans are always fighting against pain and suffering damages, or at least limiting the amount that can awarded. I don’t know if they’ve succeeded in any states, but I never heard of anyone being required to quantify pain and suffering. That’s the jury’s job. And is appealable if clearly disproportionate.

[gratuitous]

11. It is indeed how lawsuits work

If you're going to put a dollar value on the loss of your child (which is the unfortunate limitation of our civil tort system), you need to prove that value with documentary and testimonial evidence. The defendant has an established right to see and hear that evidence, and argue their side of the lawsuit based on that evidence. The plaintiffs should make sure there is an ironclad protective order in place so that that evidence is never disclosed outside the confines of the lawsuit, with suitably heavy penalties for any leak.

[onenote]

19. Most of the posters here don't understand this.

[gratuitous]

23. True enough

But both the Sun-Sentinel and Skyler Swisher should have enough information and experience not to sensationalize the routine production of discovery in a civil case. Heaven knows there are plenty of real outrages perpetrated every day across the country that neither the Sun-Sentinel nor Swisher need to go spelunking like this.

[lostnfound]

13. Another reason why American justice system is disgusting

System imprisons poor people over $300 fines they can’t pay while the same $300 fine for a rich person is pocket change. System doesn’t have to demonstrate that the punishment is effectively the same — equivalently punitive. The fines are generally blind to a person’s wealth, and because the system does not concern itself with the punitive nature.

But God forbid judgments in the other direction that depend on “what’s a human life worth?” be equally blind. Maybe each persons life is worth five million, whether a stock analyst at the WTC or a janitor or waiter at the WTC. Doesn’t work that way, does it?

No one can put a price on grief.

[MissB]

5. Bad move

And worse optics

[young_at_heart]

8. The word "demands" is what got to me!

Surely there is a better word.

[MissB]

9. I don't know that there is.

It’s understood that the death of your child is an utterly devastating event.

[Sympthsical]

10. This is normal in lawsuits like these

Shitty, but usual. Courts and legal cases rely on as much evidence as possible. Common sense isn’t evidence.

[PSPS]

12. Sure, must have the 'records.' Many parents lie about having anguish over their child's murder.

[lostnfound]

14. Maybe school records, too, and sports records

After all, losing a kid that got a B- in geometry must not be as anguish inducing as losing the one who got the A.

And sports “stars“ like Brock Turner....Well we already know how they rate.

[niyad]

15. There are words. . But I would get in trouble.

[democrattotheend]

16. This is common in cases where the plaintiff claims mental anguish

Plaintiffs almost always have to turn over psychiatric records to substantiate their claims of mental anguish, anxiety, etc. In discrimination cases, I always warn clients that if they want to seek compensatory damages (as opposed to just backpay), they are opening that door. This sounds harsh but it's the norm in litigation involving any kind of mental health damages.

[Tommymac]

17. Same Legal tactic used to defend Rapists.

Fuck them Fuck Them FUCK THEM!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. It's probably the insurance carrier and their lawyers.

Name and shame them!

[KWR65]

24. This is common in civil litigation.

There is no harm in turning them over to support claims of mental illness or angish.