3 Types Of Evidence Needed For A Defamation Lawsuit
If your restaurant is recently losing sales and you believe it is due to someone spreading rumors about your business, you might be able to sue for defamation. Defamation is a serious offense, but proving it can be difficult. To do this, you will need to hire a personal injury attorney to help you with the case, but there are three things you should look into before going to an attorney's office.
Do You Know Who Is Doing This?
When rumors cause people to stop visiting your restaurant, it is called defamation, which is broken up into two categories known as libel and slander. Libel stands for derogatory statements that are written or published, while slander refers to spoken derogatory remarks. Both types of defamation can be devastating to a business, but you cannot file a case until you have the right evidence.
The first thing you must do is find out who is saying or writing these things. When the defamation involves libel, you may be able to find out who started the rumors if you:
- See an ad or article in a newspaper that said bad things about your establishment
- Found reviews online that were derogatory
- Encounter negative comments on social media sites
If you can find out where the rumors began, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the person. Before you do this though, you should thoroughly investigate if the rumors are true or false.
Are the Rumors True?
One of the other key elements of defamation cases is that the rumors spread must be false. Derogatory statements that are true do not fall into defamation, simply because the person is telling the truth.
If someone said that they were served the wrong food, or that there was a hair on their plate, these statements could be considered defamation, but only if the statements were false. One issue that is often hard to prove in court is whether the statements made were true or not. It often boils down to he-said, she-said.
Do You Have Proof Your Business Is Suffering?
Suing someone for defamation will not only require knowing who it is and proving that the words were false, but it will also require proving that your business is being hit negatively by this. If you have these three crucial pieces of evidence, it may be time to visit a personal injury lawyer to sue the person for defamation.
When you plan your visit to the attorney's office, bring every piece of evidence you have, including:
- Documentation that backs up the defamation
- Financial statements to show your loss
- Any types of evidence that prove who is responsible for this
With this information, the attorney may decide to proceed with the lawsuit. If you win, you may be able to recover money lost from the situation, and you may be able to seek other types of punitive damages too, including:
- Money lost from sales
- Projected future losses of sales
- Costs for mental health treatment if needed
- Pain and suffering
If this situation causes you to lose your business, you may be able to recover even more money simply because you would no longer be able to profit from this business anymore.
Hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer is a smart decision for cases of defamation. An attorney with experience in this will know what it takes to prove a case like this, and he or she will also know how much money to request for compensation. If you are interested in hiring an attorney to help you proceed with a case, look for an attorney like this.
