A Different Type Of Personal Injury: Libel And Slander

Blog

Lots of people have heard of these terms, but perhaps never associated them with a real-life occurrence. Nowadays, almost anyone can fall victim to this type of harm, given the wide information decimation of social media and the web. Read on to learn more.

What do they mean?

These terms both refer to a manner of defamation, with libel referring to the written statement and slander referring to the spoken statement. These statements can come on many different vehicles, for example:

Libel

  • Blog posts
  • Social media posts (Facebook, etc.)
  • Comments on blog posts or social media posts
  • Newspaper letters to editors (not common, since these letters are usually carefully chosen).
  • Comments on media websites (such as newspaper, magazine or television forums and comments about articles).
  • Any form of chat or online communication

Slander

Since this is a spoken form of defamation, it can occur in too many places to list. Anywhere you have an opportunity for people to talk, the potential for slander exists. The only real requirement that something be slander is that the comment must be made to a third party. In other words, you cannot slander someone by speaking directly to them and to them alone; a third party must be privy to the defamation.

What is the truth?

For it to be a defamatory statement, it has to have the potential to be proven true or untrue. If you say on Facebook that Jane Smith was kicked out of the military with a dishonorable discharge, and Jane can prove that this was not true, it is libel. She still must show, however, that the libelous statement caused her harm.

Take the above example, but with a different audience. If the statement appeared on an anti-war site, where the readers would not necessarily take a negative view of this statement, and it did no harm to Jane, then that may not be libel.

Qualified Statements

This type of statement might begin with the words "I think" or "I heard." This is simply your opinion, so how could it be libel or slander? While you may not realize it, placing a qualifier before your defamatory statement does nothing to reduce the effect of it. These types of statements can be just as harmful as if you were stating a fact (a false fact, but a fact). This is considered slander if spoken aloud.

You don't have to just put up with people defaming you; you have the right take legal action against those who make statements about you that harm you and are not true. Speak to a personal injury attorney or law firm like Harris, Steven W and ensure that your reputation is restored to the truth.

Share

24 January 2018

Consulting with an Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer

Ten years ago, I was injured in a car wreck while commuting to work. When a driver rear-ended my car, I hurt my back. Unfortunately, I had to undergo a couple of weeks of physical therapy. Even after receiving physical therapy, my back never felt as good as it did prior to the wreck. Have you been injured in a car wreck recently? Consider talking with an experienced accident and personal injury lawyer. This type of attorney can help you decide whether filing a lawsuit is your best course of action to take. On this blog, I hope you will discover the benefits of speaking with an accident and personal injury attorney soon after getting injured in a car wreck. Enjoy!