Chiropractor sues patient over negative online review

why are you automatically assuming that the patient's statements were false?

Posting a statement about another person (or organization) on the internet should not shield the poster from libel or slander laws - if I accuse a licensed professional, regardless of his or her specialty, of conduct unbecoming etc. I should be prepared either to prove it or deal with the consequences. I am professionally licensed in my field, and someone accusing me of incompetence or dishonesty had better be prepared to document the charge or face the legal consequences. And the cloak of anonymity that the internet offers is a very thin cloak indeed - every posting leaves a trail that can be traced back to the poster. Take my word for it.

The doctor should be able to rebut the negative information (like on EBay). There are two sides to every story and sometimes they're both true! The consumers should be able to weigh them and make an informed decision.

This article lead very skillfully conflates "negative" with "false," and would suggest the reader make the same mistake.

Given the documented and well-known medical error rates that lead to roughly 100,000 avoidable deaths every year in the U.S., and even greater numbers of poor outcomes, it seems ingenuine at the very least for medical practitioners to claim abuse by consumer feedback on the Web. I don't see similar concern expressed about the abdication of regulatory responsibility by medical review boards across the U.S. who refuse to police, censure or control incompetent and reckless medical practice.

Given how long and hard it took the AMA to buy into the concept of "patients rights," it's not surprising that many of its members would be more interested in denying patients' inalienable rights of speech rather than investigating deficits within individual or group practice.