Personal Injury Newsletters

Defamation and Protection of a Good Reputation

The law of defamation exists to provide some protection to a person's deserved good reputation. What is a person's reputation? It is the esteem to which the person is held or regarded by others. A person who does good and does not cause harm to others tends to develop a good reputation. It can be beneficial to have a good reputation. Others may reasonably rely on a person's good reputation in dealing with that person.

Governmental Immunity from Suit

If a party is injured by some act of a governmental unit, official, or agency, he may or may not be permitted to sue. The reason that he may be barred from suing is because of "sovereign immunity." Traditionally, this doctrine protected governmental units, officials, and agencies from liability based on their tortious acts unless they had consented to being sued. Now, this immunity has been waived in large part and only applies in certain circumstances.

Intoxication As a Defense to Negligence

Intoxication is not a defense to negligence. A person who is intoxicated when he commits a negligent act will be held to the same standard as a person who is not intoxicated. The actions of an intoxicated person will not be judged by the standard of a reasonably prudent intoxicated person.

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

With the increased number of elderly people in our population and the increased number of elderly people who reside in nursing homes, there has been an increase in the number of tort actions involving nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect. Although both federal and state agencies are responsible for inspecting and regulating nursing homes, many nursing home residents are being subjected to situations that may constitute abuse or neglect.

Publication of a Defamation

A lawsuit for defamation has the following basic elements: (1) making a false statement; (2) about a person; (3) to others; and (4) actual damages (if the harm to the person is not apparent). There is a fifth element when the person is a public official or public figure. The person who made the statement has to have made it with a known or reckless disregard of the truth. This article discusses the third element, making a statement to others, known as publication.