DULUTH, Minn., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A Minnesota woman is suing the federal government after a letter to her son serving in Iraq came back mistakenly stamped "deceased."

Joan Najbar of Duluth said in her lawsuit against the federal government and the U.S. Postal Service, filed Nov. 5 in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, the letter returned to her Oct. 13, 2006, was stamped with the word "Deceased" in red ink, the Duluth News Tribune reported Tuesday.


Najbar said the letter caused her severe emotional distress because she did not know if her son, who was serving in the Army in Iraq, had been killed. She said she discovered through the Red Cross that he was still alive, but she required medical treatment and suffered a loss of income as a result of the distress.

The government has yet to file a response to the suit, but representatives of the Army and U.S. Postal Service said they do not use red "Deceased" stamps in any situations.

The lawsuit alleges negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the government and postal service.