Fox News cameras followed closely from above as 33-year-old JoDon Romero led police on an hour-long police chase last September. No one could have anticipated that the father of three would shoot himself in the head as the Fox helicopter hovered, but when he did, the cameras kept rolling and it was televised for the entire country to see.

Shepard Smith, who was reporting live as the camera followed the chase, repeated "Get off! Get off! Get off!" as he saw that Romero was about to take his life. But before the network could cut to commercial, Romero put a gun to his head and fired. After a commercial break, Smith returned to the air and said, "It is insensitive, it is just wrong. And that was wrong. And that won't happen again on my watch."

But the damage was already done. Within hours of the incident, YouTube users across the nation had uploaded videos of Fox's enormous misstep. It was terrible for viewers who did not know Romero to watch a man's death on national television. And it was even more terrible for Romero's family.

The lawsuit filed earlier this month says that Romero's two older sons, aged 13 and 15, heard rumors that a suicide was broadcast live on television. When they watched the videos with friends from school, they realized "in horror" that they were watching their father.

Upon examination, a psychologist determined that the boys did exhibit symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the Mayo Clinic, people develop the mental health condition when they experience, see, or learn about an event that causes them to feel fear, helplessness, or horror. In the case of Romero's sons, seeing their father's suicide on Fox News may have been a triggering event.

People with PTSD are at higher risk for depression, drug abuse, and eating disorders. PTSD also places people at higher risk for heart disease, chronic pain, and musculoskeletal conditions.

The suit alleges that Romero's children "have been, and continue to be, severely traumatized." The children's mother, Angela Rodriguez, says that her boys have not been able to return to school since the incident, citing severe emotional and psychological trauma.

Fox News has not commented on the suit.