Is defamation considered personal injury?
Personal Injury - October 28, 2025
Any time someone causes you intentional or careless harm through their actions, it can be considered personal injury. Therefore, defamation is considered a personal injury if you suffer emotional distress or harm to your reputation. However, pursuing a lawsuit based on defamation, libel, or slander can be complicated and requires experienced help from a Chicago personal injury attorney with Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates.
What makes defamation a personal injury?
Although it differs from causing bodily injury, defamation can inflict longer-lasting damage when it harms your personal, professional, or business reputation. You may lose relationships, contracts, customers, or potential growth opportunities if another party makes false statements about you or your company. Fighting back requires that you understand what you’re up against.
Defamation comes in two main forms:
- Libel: These are written statements made available to others through newspapers, social media, or other platforms.
- Slander: Slanderous statements are spoken on television, through conversation, or in speeches.
The main difference here is that libel is a written action, and slander is spoken. Each is a form of personal injury that is false and damaging to a person’s reputation. Under the Illinois Slander and Libel Act, statements aren’t automatically assumed to be malicious unless the plaintiff presents evidence of malice.
What’s required for proving defamation in court?
The Illinois defamation law allows you to proceed with your case according to personal injury law, which requires you to demonstrate four elements of negligence by the defendant:
- Duty: The defendant owed you a duty of care to avoid causing you harm through a defamatory statement.
- Breach: The defendant failed in their duty.
- Causation: The defendant’s actions (or inactions in preventing the defamation) directly caused you harm.
- Damages: You have damages associated with the injury, supported by evidence
Defamation claims put the burden of proof on your shoulders and require you to show a preponderance of the evidence supporting your claim. You can use photos, screenshots, videos, witness statements, and other forms of evidence to show the defendant knew their statements were false and still made them.
What types of damages are available in defamation cases?
Unlike a car accident claim, you probably won’t have medical bills or property damage losses in your defamation case. However, if you suffer such extreme emotional distress that you self-harm or put yourself in danger, you may be able to include those costs in your claim valuation.
Common types of damages your personal injury attorney may help you seek include:
- Damage to personal and professional reputation
- Loss of employment opportunities
- Loss of business contracts and clients
- Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other diagnosed conditions
- Mental anguish
- Diminished quality of life
- Isolation, shock, grief, and embarrassment
Your lawyer determines how much your personal injury case is worth after a thorough investigation and assessment. They will use special formulas to estimate the value of your subjective losses (your pain and suffering) so you receive fair compensation for those intangible costs. Using business records, they can calculate the value of your economic damages, such as lost income and contracts.
What’s the biggest challenge in defamation cases?
The most difficult obstacle to overcome in a defamation lawsuit is proving that the defendant knew what they said was false and that their statement isn’t covered under the First Amendment protections for free speech. If a random customer is unhappy with your business and tells their immediate family members not to shop there, that doesn’t represent a threat to your company.
However, if a former employee spreads untrue stories on social media and appears on television making false statements against your company, they may be committing defamation. The key is showing that they knew the statements were wrong and that you can demonstrate tangible harm from their actions.
Protect your reputation with experienced legal help
Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates is a law firm offering over 100 years of service and dedication to your best interests. We manage personal injury claims of all kinds, fighting for the justice and compensation you deserve from those at fault. Learn more about how we can help when you schedule a free consultation with a Chicago personal injury attorney by calling (800) 985-1819 today.
