Insurance coverage for defamation, libel or slander

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Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.

I read the announcement on this site regarding the efforts of a litigant to add members of this site as defendants to a lawsuit alleging defamation.

Your risk management tip of the day: many (if not virtually all) homeowner's, renters or personal umbrella liability policies provide coverage for allegations of defamation, libel or slander. If I was added as a defendant or thought I could be added as a defendant, I would be contacting my insurance company to put them on notice of a potential claim and ask them to render a coverage decision: am I covered for the claim or not. If the insurance company says you are covered, I would ensure that I complied with the policy requirements to file an official claim with my insurance and then follow their instructions in defending the claim.

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Wow. I never would have thought to check homeowner's insurance policy for that. Seems like an odd thing to cover.

I really feel for the AN members being dragged into this mess.

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Specializes in Critical care.

I'm so confused by all the legal talk and really not quite sure what is going on, but I've gathered the gist of it (and I'm still in disbelief). I'm actually quite afraid to even make comments and ask for clarification because I don't want to cause any more issues. It really ticks me off that this whole thing has me fearful of posting opinions or asking questions :sorry:

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I'm so confused by all the legal talk and really not quite sure what is going on but I've gathered the gist of it (and I'm still in disbelief). I'm actually quite afraid to even make comments and ask for clarification because I don't want to cause any more issues. It really ticks me off that this whole thing has me fearful of posting opinions or asking questions :sorry:[/quote']

Do not be afraid of posting!

As one who is named in this lawsuit, I have every intention to continue posting, and will engage in the legal process in an aggressively assertive manner, and have continued to post status quo.

I don't want posters to be deterred by engaging in anonymous posting, nor do I want posters feeling fearful to post; I want posters to be informed, know their rights, and be able to understand their rights in the process of anonymous posting, as well as not make that a fearful engagement, regardless of viewpoint.

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Do not be afraid of posting!

As one who is named in this lawsuit, I have every intention to continue posting, and will engage in the legal process in an aggressively assertive manner, and have continued to post status quo.

I don't want posters to be deterred by engaging in anonymous posting, nor do I want posters feeling fearful to post; I want posters to be informed, know their rights, and be able to understand their rights in the process of anonymous posting, as well as not make that a fearful engagement, regardless of viewpoint.

Missed you, girlie. :inlove:

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Specializes in CEN.
Do not be afraid of posting!

As one who is named in this lawsuit, I have every intention to continue posting, and will engage in the legal process in an aggressively assertive manner, and have continued to post status quo.

I don't want posters to be deterred by engaging in anonymous posting, nor do I want posters feeling fearful to post; I want posters to be informed, know their rights, and be able to understand their rights in the process of anonymous posting, as well as not make that a fearful engagement, regardless of viewpoint.

I was afraid that you were going to stop posting! It's good to hear from you! I am so sorry that you and the other posters named in the lawsuit are going through this. I wish you guys well.

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Do not be afraid of posting!

As one who is named in this lawsuit, I have every intention to continue posting, and will engage in the legal process in an aggressively assertive manner, and have continued to post status quo.

I don't want posters to be deterred by engaging in anonymous posting, nor do I want posters feeling fearful to post; I want posters to be informed, know their rights, and be able to understand their rights in the process of anonymous posting, as well as not make that a fearful engagement, regardless of viewpoint.

Sending you and the others named support and encouragement. Sorry you are going through this.

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Risk Manager,if a nurse has ,why would they need to look into their Homeowner's insurance?

I believe this is covered under my NSO policy,but I am not sure where this would fall as we do post "Anonymously".

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Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.
Risk Manager,if a nurse has malpractice insurance,why would they need to look into their Homeowner's insurance?

I believe this is covered under my NSO policy,but I am not sure where this would fall as we do post "Anonymously".

The CNA individual nursing liability policy provides that 'personal injury' is among the covered exposures. One of the definitions of 'personal injury' found in the policy is: libel, slander or other disparaging materials. Defamation is not explicitly listed as a covered exposure. In addition, the 'personal injury' has to occur in the context of you providing professional services; i.e.: nursing services.

Libeling, slandering, or publishing disparaging materials in regards to your neighbor, the restaurant down the street or on the Internet is not being done in the context of you providing professional services. Libeling, slandering or publishing disparaging materials in regards to a patient you have cared for probably is being done in the context of you providing professional services. So the short answer is libel or slander or publishing disparaging materials regarding your patients is covered. The rest is not. Your homeowner's, renters or personal umbrella coverage has a broader coverage definition not limited to just your patients.

I have handled a few libel/slander/defamation claims brought by patients, and these have been covered by the malpractice policy.

I emphasize to point out that any policy covers this sort of thing if it was inadvertent. If you deliberately set out to libel, slander or defame someone, that will likely not be covered by any insurance policy.

Please note that these are broad comments of general application, and there may be statutory or case law in your jurisdiction that make my comments more or less applicable to you. The issue of defamation/libel/slander via the Internet is a dynamic one, and there have been lots of appellate court decisions on the subject and on the topic of insurance coverage for these allegations.

PS: I forgot to add for #Smartnurse1982: I would not necessarily bet the farm on being anonymous on the Internet. I am the first to admit that I am not an expert on this particular area of risk management, but I have read in my journals about parties in a lawsuit being forced to provide their identity. You generally have broad latitude to conduct discovery and find what who is saying what on the subject matter of the lawsuit. This goes back to the variety of case law on these cases, and so I would defer to an Internet privacy attorney on this.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Ladyfree and others named, so glad they haven't taken the wind out of your sails! I'm not a lawyer but this lawsuit appears to be completely bogus! Not the least of which is that one of the elements of defamation is intention.

The central issue is the standards that must be met before an internet service provider can be compelled to reveal your identity to a 3rd party.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

You are not anonymous here. Everyone has to give some form of identifying info to join the site. I am sure the rest is discoverable. But I am not a lawyer, either. Just a guess.

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I keep seeing this on the website. How annoying. Good luck to those involved. Sounds like the lawsuit is for deceptive/fraudulent monetary gain. I'm sure the prosecutor will lose, if the suit is legit, because this site is for nurses and is used for educational purposes without monetary gain and freedom of speech protects it.

Speaking of lawsuit, I was once told "if you like to help people, marry a doctor, if you like to constantly change things, marry an engineer, if you like to argue, marry a lawyer". My goal to get into nursing school and seeing someone finally speak up about this lawsuit thing and the enormous risk involved in losing a license even at the CNA level makes me think about finding a beautiful woman who is a successful lawyer....so I can get that protection :roflmao:

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