FINANCE & LEGAL o Injury


hire law firm Keebles LLP, advises on how care media and online slander, in a world where a ntially ruin a company’s reputation.


have a focus on


gative comment ter people from is imperative that or sites and take


when needed. sses closely monitor


dia channels, and tions and posts, limited as far as


ls such as Tweetdeck xcellent ways to keep our channels. They


onitor more than one a particularly useful tion has more than count.


amation Act 2013, loss and reputation


risk for a case to be ernative steps can s more minor.


amatory remarks statement stays will be to remove all ulation.


have a one-year d any delay in do more harm than uld be more likely didn’t act straight


ded for care and ls to keep a copy


mments in order to lties if the original remove them, as


difficult to relocate. spond to negative


assessing whether al to the situation at would be


and reflect much sation. Taking otential damage


inflicted by the comments would benefit the practice as, if there’s no risk of reducing the commercial benefit, the page could temporarily be taken down whilst action is taken.


Additionally, if the defamatory comment has taken place on a platform such as Twitter or Facebook, the most efficient solution would be to report it, and if the content is deemed offensive enough then it will be removed.


Care organisations are also advised to ensure a statement is defamatory and not just a negative review before taking legal action.


For social media accounts, job sites and care home review sites like carehome. co.uk, it is important the in-house team establishes a consistent approach to dealing with defamatory and negative remarks. It is good to have someone dedicated to monitoring comments – this would normally sit with the company’s communications, human resources or legal teams.


It is also useful to agree consistent replies to comments if you are to reply in a public forum. This would normally include non-bias, defensive and key company messages. However, not all comments should be replied to.


Although negative statements can be unhelpful, not all are necessarily defamatory. Taking advice – legal or otherwise – could be the quickest resolution should you find yourself in this situation as it could potentially prevent unnecessary court fees and further damage to the organisation’s reputation.


Building a reputation for taking a firm but fair line can be effective in preventing further defamatory comments.


www.keebles.com twitter.com/TomorrowsCare - 39 -


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