Judge temporarily blocks release of records on Bob Saget's death

The judge said Saget's family would "suffer irreparable harm in the form of severe mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress if the requested temporary injunction is not granted."
Bob Saget, Dec. 8, 2021, Los Angeles

A Florida circuit judge on Wednesday followed a request from Bob Saget's family by granting a temporary injunction to stop local officials from releasing some records on the comedian's death.

Circuit Judge Vincent Chiu's order blocks the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the medical examiner's office from releasing any photos, audio or video recordings from the investigation into Saget's death, The Orlando Sentinel reported.

Saget died from head trauma in an Orland hotel room on Jan. 9. His family last week released a statement saying that he hit his head, "thought nothing of it and went to sleep." However, some are now raising questions about the severity of the injury after the autopsy report was released.

Saget's wife Kelly Rizzo and his daughters would "suffer irreparable harm in the form of severe mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress if the requested temporary injunction is not granted," Chiu wrote in his ruling, the Sentinel reported.

The temporary injunction allows the court "adequate opportunity to weigh Plaintiffs’ legitimate privacy interest against the public’s claim for disclosure," the judge wrote.

The "Full House" star's family had requested the court to stop the release of his death records on Tuesday, Just the News reported. The family argued that the graphic nature of the records would cause "irreparable harm in the form of extreme mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress."

Wednesday morning, the Orange County Sheriff's office released a statement.

"While we are sensitive to the family’s concerns about the right to privacy, that must be balanced with our commitment to transparency, compliance with the law, and the public’s right to know," the agency said, per the Sentinel.

Houston Methodist Neurosurgery chair Dr. Gavin Britz told The New York Times: "This is significant trauma." 

"This is something I find with someone with a baseball bat to the head, or who has fallen from 20 or 30 feet," he said.