Collins v. Union County Jail

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

COLEMAN, J.

The issue raised in this appeal is whether the verbal threshold provision of the Tort Claims Act (“Act”), N.J.S. A 59:9-2(d), bars a claim of permanent psychological harm in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the rape of a prison inmate by a corrections officer. The trial court and the Appellate Division both held that absent residual physical injury, the inmate’s complaints of post-traumatic stress disorder constituted mere pain and suffering, and thus failed to meet the threshold requirement of N.J.S.A 59:9-2(d). We hold…