Green v. Chicago Tribune Co.
Illinois Court of Appeals
675 N.E.2d 249 (1996)
While Laura Green's (plaintiff) son Calvin was undergoing failed emergency treatment for a bullet wound, Chicago Tribune (defendant) staffers photographed him without consent; after he died and was moved to a private room, staffers entered without permission to take more photos, physically prevented Green from entering the room herself, and later overheard and published the private words she spoke to her deceased son alongside photographs of him, all despite her having declined to give any public statement. A separate article showing Calvin during emergency treatment did not feature Green in any way; Green sued for two counts of intentional infliction of emotional distress, the trial court dismissed her complaint, and she appealed.
Whether newspaper staff who barred a mother from her deceased son's hospital room while photographing him, and later published her private words to him, engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct sufficient to state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.