Claiming that she was inflicted with emotional trauma, a 12 year old girl and her family are sueing for $400,000 in damages after a classroom screening of the pro-gay movie, Brokeback Mountain. The claim also cites negligence, false imprisonment and the claim that this emotional trauma was intentionally inflicted.
Implications - This lawsuit is from a Chicago family against the city's Board of Education. The incident occurred at the Ashburn Community Elementary and the teacher in question told the students that what happens in her class stays in her class. She already sounded guilty before doing anything. Although homophobia should not be encouraged and tolerated, the movie choice was inappropriate for the setting and young audience.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Age-appropriate Content
- Opportunities for companies to create and promote age-appropriate content in all industries to avoid lawsuits and negative backlash.
- Emotional Trauma Litigation
- Opportunities for legal firms and insurance companies to focus on the emerging trend of emotional trauma litigation.
- Inclusive Education
- Opportunities for education technology companies to create tools and resources that promote inclusive education in the classroom.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Education
- Opportunities for schools and education institutions to explore and implement policies that promote inclusivity and avoid potential lawsuits.
- Entertainment
- Opportunities for entertainment companies to create and promote content that is age-appropriate and inclusive to avoid negative backlash and lawsuits.
- Insurance
- Opportunities for insurance companies to develop coverage and policies for emotional trauma litigation that may become more prevalent in the future.
