Libel In A Complaint?

[toltol]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if I'm risking a libel case if I submit a complaint about healthcare in Ireland to the press?
I have named key satff in the complaint and incidents where I believe they acted inappropriately.

The complaint is still being investigated but I want to send to the press, am I risking a court case (In Ireland)?

[Mojo-Jo-Jo]

I would be very careful about naming people because you believe they acted wrongly. I would suggest you gain some proof before doing that.

[LazyGun]

Not sure I understand exactly what it is you are planning to submit to the press. Are you submitting an article which you hope they will publish, or are you submitting a dossier of allegations for them to investigate and hopefully report on, or are you submitting a letter which you hope to have published in the letters page?

Regardless of which however, I would be very careful of naming people and making allegations of malpractice/incompetence or whatever without some decent evidence and preferably independent corroboration of these allegations.

You say the complaint is being investigated - do you mean by the hospital authorities? If so, it seems to me you are jumping the gun a bit, involving the press before the hospital have arrived at a decision following their own investigation.

[jno]

what country's press are you talking about? The Irish press will be subject to different laws from British ones, though newspapers from either may be sold in the other and leave you at risk in both countries.

As a rule of thumb, stick to the facts and have as much proof as possible of everything you say. You may still be sued for libel but at least you will have some sort of defence.

[toltol]

Thanks All,

I hear you, I will be careful.

Of course I understand that I can't just make wild claims but I am afraid that if complaint is not made public there will be a cover up. I know this sounds dramatic and a little out there but I have first hand experience of the staff falsifying medical records.

Not sure how to proceed.

[Peter Pedant]

and let rip - clearly we cant say if it is libellous in English Law where you wouuld be publishing it - or Irish (vaguely the same)

s1 of the new Defamation Act says it has to be serious
and if it is true of course that is a deefence

so off you go - freeodm of speech for all !

[boxtops]

If the complaint is still being investigated by the healthcare authority's complaints department, I would be very careful about naming names until the neglect or bad practice has been proved. Otherwise you risk prejudicing the investigation, apart from leaving yourself open to challenge. IMO.

[FredPuli43]

Dangerous. "The bigger the truth, the bigger the libel" is what cynical lawyers still say; it means that the closer you are to the truth about somebody, the more eager they are to sue.

The defence that the statement is true ("justification") is very difficult to run. Every relevant fact that you assert must be supported by compelling, admissible evidence, and that is hard to come by. You are on safer ground by pleading that what your opinion is, is a reasonable one to hold. So, for example, you might say that long delays in A and E smacked of incompetence, in your opinion. Where you hit difficulty is when you name an individual and say, in terms, that it is due to their incompetence alone; they will readily answer that they are not to blame, that it is a combination of factors beyond their control, or even that they are not the sole person who has displayed incompetence, and you would have great difficulty answering that.

Forget any idea that our law puts the burden of proof on the complainant in defamation. Even after recent reform, it is as though the defendant has the burden of proving his case.

[shoota]

You could ask to talk to a reporter and tell the story to him. The paper will have lawyers that should ensure that no laws are broken, even if it means delaying running the story until the complaint is resolved, and that will take any risk away from you.

[Ken4155]

I would think that the newspaper in question would be willing to print your account if they think it holds water but i doubt if they would publish names.

[toltol]

What about anonymising the account so that people can't be identified either by name, rank or gender??

[toltol]

And again, thank you for your help, I know you are offering sound advice but when do WE ever get justice? These people killed my father through absolute neglect and I know nothing will be done.

[China Doll]

I think you should wait for the outcome of the investigation, otherwise all that's going to happen is an acknowledgment of the concerns and confirmation they're being investigated so you'll just end up looking a trouble maker. Better to pick your battle if/when you think there has been a cover up following the investigation.

[society]

Don't forget to log all findings and keep your notes safely.

[FredPuli43]

And how would you achieve this anonymising ? Give us a fictional complaint naming X and then the same but not identifying them in any way. It is harder than it looks.

[Mojo-Jo-Jo]

toltol, this must be a very frustrating time for you, but gather your evidence, make sure it's good evidence, listen to everything the investigation throws up and carry out your own investigation if you can.
Then, when the outcome of the internal investigation is announced, you will have a stick to beat it with.
That is, if it goes against you. You never know, it might go in your favour.
If you submit before the investigation is complete, you have nothing to fight against because no decision has been made.
Bide your time. It'll be worth it if you're right.

[toltol]

Thank you all again, I know your responses are sensible but it feels like we have no real recourse.

Would you appeal to the person that has just robbed you and ask them to treat you fairly? Most would say of course not...replace the robber for the hospital and why would I expect a different outcome!

[society]

Do you have solid evidence? Then speak to an attorney.

[shoota]

Equally toltol, the satisfaction you may gain by having a letter/article published could well be totally extinguished if that piece were to prejudice a satisfactory outcome to the complaint.
What is the saying? 'Revenge is a dish best eaten cold' or something similar.

[EDDIE51]

I have to agree with the others, tell the story but leave actual names out.
you can give them 'code names' for example Doctor A , Nurse B using the actual names is likely to get you sued .

[toltol]

We have....
No water for five days and not fed for weeks, this happened twice, second time was no water for three days and not fed for about 12 days.
We have released from the hospital in the morning and dead eleven hours later of Pneumonia!