USPS returns letter to soldier stamped 'deceased'

[Bateluer]

http://www.ktar.com/index.php?nid=509&sid=1237515

"DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - A Minnesota woman is suing the federal government after a letter she mailed to her son in Iraq was returned with the word "deceased" stamped on the envelope, even though the soldier is alive.

Joan Najbar of Duluth filed the lawsuit last month in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, claiming emotional distress and negligence.

Najbar sent the letter to her son in September 2006. Several weeks later the letter was returned to her by the Postal Service with a red "deceased" stamp. Najbar contacted the Red Cross and learned her son had not been killed.

She filed a claim for injuries against the Postal Service in July 2008. That claim was denied. A letter from the Postal Service says its investigation found no negligence.

A call to Najbar's attorney was not immediately returned. The government's answer to her suit has not yet been filed."

Not exactly how any parents wants to be notified that their son has been killed in service, even if the USPS was mistaken. Whether or not she is entitled to monetary compensation, I'll leave that for the courts to decide, but the USPS screwed up bad here and they need to make amends. I imagine the mother came pretty close to having a heart attack when she got the letter back.

 

[Vette73]

USPS does not make the notice of deceased. They just stamp on it what the military told them when they tried to deliver.
So it would be the military that err'ed here. The PO just does what they do and stamp it with what the reciever says.
My grandmother could send me a letter and i tell the PO to stamp deceased on it. That does not allow my grandmother to sue and win against the PO.

 

[shadow9d9]

Who cares. Enough of the fake outrage.

 

[nick1985]

that would ruin your day

 

[Slick5150]

USPS does not make the notice of deceased. They just stamp on it what the military told them when they tried to deliver.
So it would be the military that err'ed here. The PO just does what they do and stamp it with what the reciever says.
My grandmother could send me a letter and i tell the PO to stamp deceased on it. That does not allow my grandmother to sue and win against the PO.

This.

USPS just hands off mail to the appropriate military postal system who takes it from there. Someone there obviously stamped Deceased on the letter and gave it back to USPS, who then took it back to the return address.

 

[Pulsar]

they need to make amends.

I am SO sick of this sentence. Folks need to harden the **** up. The world is not a perfect place. A simple phone all to voice her displeasure to them should be enough. Flipping sue-happy boneheads looking for their quick and easy $.

A mistake is a mistake. It happens every day.

 

[her209]

<Insert snide comment about government run health care.>

 

[ElFenix]

if the postal service does what the military told them then i'm fairly certain they can't be sued for this. sovereign immunity and all that.

 

[Genx87]

Is the red cross who you typically contact to determine if a soldier died in the line of duty????????????

 

[Vette73]

Is the red cross who you typically contact to determine if a soldier died in the line of duty????????????

Red Cross has contacts setup to do that more quickly sometimes.
That and the RC is the ones that check on prisoners. So if a loved one ahs been caught soemtimes the RC has been allowed to look in on them. They are seen as a netural 3rd party by some.

 

[BeauJangles]

This woman should demand an apology, but these money-grubbing lawsuits really need to end.

 

[Robor]

I am SO sick of this sentence. Folks need to harden the **** up. The world is not a perfect place. A simple phone all to voice her displeasure to them should be enough. Flipping sue-happy boneheads looking for their quick and easy $.

A mistake is a mistake. It happens every day.

I totally agree. You can't drive down a road or turn on the radio without seeing/hearing these opportunistic ambulance chasers looking to milk some insurance company or big business.

 

[fskimospy]

Is the red cross who you typically contact to determine if a soldier died in the line of duty????????????

The Red Cross has served as a liason between military members and their families in emergencies for a very long time now. So yes, contacting the Red Cross would probably be the family's best bet as they have a direct link to military commands and can find out the status of soldiers much more effectively than you can on short notice.

 

[Xellos2099]

Well, knowing the lazy worker in usps, I am not surprise at ALL, that they just decide to stand the letter so they don't need to send it to Iraq or w/e.

 

[Brainonska511]

Well, knowing the lazy worker in usps, I am not surprise at ALL, that they just decide to stand the letter so they don't need to send it to Iraq or w/e.

 

[Bateluer]

I am SO sick of this sentence. Folks need to harden the **** up. The world is not a perfect place. A simple phone all to voice her displeasure to them should be enough. Flipping sue-happy boneheads looking for their quick and easy $.

A mistake is a mistake. It happens every day.

That's why I used the term 'amends' instead of payout. A phone call from the USPS to the mother apologizing for the error would be enough for me.

 

[LegendKiller]

Well, knowing the lazy worker in usps, I am not surprise at ALL, that they just decide to stand the letter so they don't need to send it to Iraq or w/e.

Sorry, but as posts above said, they are not the ones who deliver it to soldiers, nor the ones who would put the "deceased" stamp on it.

As far as USPS workers being "lazy", I worked there and some are, some aren't. There are a lot of hard working people in that place. To classify them all as lazy and blame them for this is misguided and hints at an underlying agenda.

 

[MotF Bane]

She deserves an apology, but enough with this get-rich-quick lawsuit bullshit.

 

[StageLeft]

Who cares. Enough of the fake outrage.

Being told your kid is dead via a red stamp isn't really fake outrage. I hope she doesn't expect any real money out of this, but someone should be given a slap on the wrist. Anyway, do they really do this, just return a letter with deceased stamped even when the person really is dead? Sounds fvcking cold.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I am SO sick of this sentence. Folks need to harden the **** up. The world is not a perfect place. A simple phone all to voice her displeasure to them should be enough. Flipping sue-happy boneheads looking for their quick and easy $.

A mistake is a mistake. It happens every day.

Folks need to man the **** up and take responsibility and make amends when one screws up and not be some pussy that tries to hide everytime it's their turn to man up and fix their mistakes.

 

[Wheezer]

Folks need to man the **** up and take responsibility and make amends when one screws up and not be some pussy that tries to hide everytime it's their turn to man up and fix their mistakes.

by make amends I hope you don't seriously think that the USPS should be forced to pay any kind of settlement.

that is just outright bullshit.

It won't be the USPS that pays the bill, it will be everyone that uses their service that pays in the form of higher prices on stamps, shipping material and postage. Why the fuck should I have to pay this money grubbing whore a goddamn dime?

So she got a little stressed out, if she wasn't such a nervous nellie she could have got on the phone and made a few calls to verify her son is alive.

The USPS fucks up all the time EVERYONE knows this including this stupid bitch. She is just looking for fame and some cash....fuck her to hell.

 

[her209]

Being told your kid is dead via a red stamp isn't really fake outrage. I hope she doesn't expect any real money out of this, but someone should be given a slap on the wrist. Anyway, do they really do this, just return a letter with deceased stamped even when the person really is dead? Sounds fvcking cold.

Ummm... how would the USPS know if the person was really deceased?