WARWICK, Rhode Island — A Warwick family is suing Verizon Communications, claiming that unauthorized transmissions of the Playboy Channel caused them “great pain, anxiety, nervousness and mental anguish.”

In the suit, filed Nov. 24 in Kent County Superior Court, Robert Bourne and Denise Roy and their daughters, Elise Roy and Danielle Bourne, say Verizon, their cable provider, failed to stop “unauthorized transmissions” of the Playboy Channel despite being notified multiple times between March and August 2008.

The suit claims an invasion of privacy and says the content on the Playboy Channel includes “sexually explicit hardcore pornography” and “is patently offensive.”

“The emotional distress suffered by the plaintiffs is so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it, and the emotional distress has resulted in physical symptomatology of emotional distress,” the suit claims.

The plaintiffs say they “have incurred and will continue to incur expenses for hospital care, medical care and attention, medications, other materials and supplies.”

The lawsuit does not request a specific amount of money.