Anderson v. City of Minneapolis, No. 18-1941 (8th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this Case
Plaintiff filed suit alleging federal constitutional and tort claims against the city, the county, and several city and county employees after his son died of hypothermia. Plaintiff alleged that defendants, by prematurely declaring plaintiff's son dead and therefore cutting off possible aid, caused his death in violation of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of defendants' motion to dismiss with prejudice, holding that plaintiff failed to identify a clearly established right and defendants were entitled to qualified immunity where they did not intentionally deny emergency aid to someone they believe to be alive. The court noted that the medical guidelines were not followed here could possibly be the basis for a negligence suit, but it was not the basis for a constitutional one.
Court Description: Kobes, Author, with Shepherd and Arnold, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. In action alleging plaintiff's decedent died of severe hypothermia because the first responders failed to follow standard operating procedures for treating hypothermia victims and, instead, prematurely declared him dead, thereby cutting off further possible aid, the district court granted the defendant first responders' and municipalities' motions for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Held: plaintiff has failed to identify a clearly established right and the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity; while the responders failure to follow the medical guidelines could possibly be the basis for a negligence suit, it is not the basis for a constitutional one.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.