Negligence
Defamation law & breach of duty of care
Negligence is defined by a breach in a duty of care that one party owes another. If this duty of care is broken and the way it is broken is through a communication by the person with a duty of care to a third party, and the communication caused harm, reputable, financial or other, to the person who was owed a duty of care then compensation may be claimed by the injured party. This is similar to defamation in that it constitutes a communication of false knowledge that has harmed a person, but that it is also a breach of a duty of care.
For example, if a falsely poor reference was given by former employers to potential new employers and it cost the person the job they had applied for, negligence may be a legitimate claim. Since the statement was defamatory, they may be able to make a claim on the financial loss they suffered as a result of not securing the new job.
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UK law seeks to prevent unfair defamatory comments from causing damage to an individual or organisation without impeding free speech.
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Defamation law in the UK is constantly changing and evolving as more and more issues begin to arise from modern communication methods.
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If you have had doubt cast and claims made regarding your reputation that you feel has had a negative impact, you could make a defamation claim.
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