Slander

Slander is injurious statements made orally or in another non-fixed medium which are not true and which injure another person. To be considered slanderous certain requirements must be met. For instance, the information must be oral, not written, it must be made to a third party, it must be made in public and it must cause injury (loss of reputation or monetary loss) to the slandered party. If any of these elements is not present then the plaintiff does not have a case for slander.

As with libel, there are common defenses for slander. For example, you cannot sue for slander if the information is true, if you agree to the dissemination of the information, the statements are recognized as an opinion, the information is presented in court or if your reputation is already so defamed that the slander did not cause additional injury.

Talk to an injury lawyer if you have questions about a slanderous statement made against you. There are certain statements which can be considered slanderous on their face. For example, if someone publicizes you have a sexually transmitted disease and you do not, they besmirch your professional reputation or they claim you have committed a crime. It is not slander, however, if you cannot prove loss or injury.