Do I have a case?

[Sean4067]

What is the name of your state? CA.
OK a little background, in 2002 while working at a hospital I befriended a patient who was terminally ill, he at one point told me as he had no family he wanted to leave me his belongings when he died, I told my employer about this situation, and was told I could not accept anything from him it was against the rules. I went to the patient and explained what I was told by my employer and told him I appreciated the offer but could not accept it. He then had hiss will written up and left his belongings to my Girlfriend at the time. when all of this came to light I was suspended at work pending an investigation. the Patient told all who interviewed him that he left his belongings to my GF of his own free will and I had nothing to do with his decision to do that. he was also friends with her I want to ad. after the investigation was completed I was returned to work and payed for all the days I was suspended for. then abour 2 1/2 weeks later I was called into the adminiastrators office and verbally attacked by 2 Sherriff Dept. detectives who told me they were going to get to the bottom of this and I would be going to jail. I told them to go piss up a tree and that I had nothing to say without an attourney present. I quit my job after the incident. well the SD did thier investigation and the case was cleared I was never charged or arrested. well I then found out that both the Hospital and the detective sent complaints to the nursing board against my license. it has cost me thousands of dollars to fight to clear my name and save my nursing license. Can I sue both the hospital and the sherriffs dept. for liable for making complaints against me that were not true and they new they were not? and how much could one expect to get from this lawsuit?

 

[quincy]

You can always sue someone, for any reason whatsoever, however there is a statute of limitations to filing a defamation suit. In most states it is one year after publication and in others it is two or three years.

If you can show that your reputation has been damaged by the complaints filed against you with the licensing board (as appears to be the case), and the complaints filed had false accusations against you and were negligently "published", then you have a shot at winning a libel case. Your case would hinge, however, on what exactly the complaints said. If the complaints merely detailed the facts of your situation with the patient, and said you were not arrested or charged after an investigation into the matter had been completed, then that is truth and a defense to any libel claim.

As for how much you would be awarded in damages, should you win a libel suit, that would be impossible for me to say. Compensatory or general damages are granted for injury to reputation, special damages for specific pecuniary loss, and punitive damages as punishment for malicious libel. Huge amounts of damage are often claimed, occassionally awarded, and often reduced by judges.

I recommend you hire a good attorney and review all of the facts with him/her. The attorney will be better able to tell you what the odds of success will be in your winning a suit, and whether it will be worth your time and money to pursue such an action. Generally defamation suits cost several thousand dollars and take a long time to work their way through the court system.

 

[Sean4067]

The accusation says that I used coersion to get the patient to sign over his belongings to my girlfriend. when the investigation paperwork clearly states in the Patients own words that he did what he did of his own free will. I had no part in his decision to do what he did I in no way asked or suggested he do that and had no knowledge of it until after the fact.

 

[quincy]

Unless the hospital can prove you used coersion (which I assume they can't, since no charges were ever brought against you), you should be able to prove defamation.

I would contact an attorney and go from there.