What is intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress?
The intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress (also known as the tort of “outrage”) alone can create liability. An employee must show the defendant’s conduct was extreme and outrageous and was done with the intent to cause severe emotional distress. Extreme and outrageous conduct is defined as conduct beyond all possible bounds of decency, “regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.” Again, there might be general agreement on what is outrageous, but applying that concept to specific facts can create interesting court decisions. For example, a doctor’s false and intentional entry in a hospital record can create a claim for outrage. Derogatory use of the word “Mexican” may be the intentional infliction of emotional distress as well as defamation. Dominguez v. Stone, 79 N.M. 211 (Ct. App. 1981). – Top of page – • Does an employer have to provide due process to an employee before it takes disciplinary action? Due process is a concept found in th
