- 11 -
be received "by reason of" or "because of" the personal injuries.
Id. 117 S. Ct. 452, 454-455.
The Tenth Circuit has also had the opportunity to examine
the meaning of the phrase "on account of". Brabson v. United
States, 73 F.3d 1040 (10th Cir. 1996); O'Gilvie v. United States,
66 F.3d 1550 (10th Cir. 1995), affd. 519 U.S. ___, 117 S. Ct. 452
(1996). In Brabson, the Tenth Circuit held that an award of
prejudgment interest was not directly linked to the underlying
personal injury and thus not excludable under section 104(a)(2).
Brabson v. United States, 73 F.3d at 1047. Rather, the Court
found that compensation received for the lost time value of money
is caused by the delay in obtaining judgment. Id. It reasoned
that time is the relevant factor in calculating the amount of
damages for prejudgment interest, not the injury itself. Id.
Thus the phrase "on account of" requires a strong causal
connection between the personal injury sustained and the
compensation received. O'Gilvie v. United States, supra; Brabson
v. United States, supra at 1046-1047 (citing Schleier, 515 U.S.
___, 115 S. Ct. at 2164). We find that petitioner's mental
distress claim satisfies this requirement. Her wrongful
termination directly caused her mental distress for which
Oklahoma law allows a recovery in tort. The relevant factor for
calculating damages for mental distress is the injury itself.
Since this type of intangible harm may constitute a personal
injury, Commissioner v. Schleier, 515 U.S. at ___ n.4, 115 S. Ct.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011