Negative Review On Yelp Leads To Defamation Lawsuit
from the this-again? dept
There have been plenty of stories about companies suing people for posting negative reviews about their business practices, and it still seems like a really dumb thing to do -- as in the end all it does is call a lot more attention to the negative review. That's what appears to be happening with a lawsuit over a negative review of a chiropractor on Yelp. The review claimed that the chiropractor was using questionable business and billing practices. The chiropractor threatened the reviewer -- and even though the review was deleted, sued the guy for defamation. Of course, now the details of the supposed unethical billing practices (involved trying to bill insurance companies significantly more, and when that didn't work coming back to the guy and asking him to pay up instead) are getting a lot more attention.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: defamation, opinions, reviews
Companies: yelp
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Umm yeah..
and I do not think the review was defamatory (is that a word?)
I would guess it's a pretty accurate description of what happened. Don't be fooled! This practice goes on in the medical community as well. This DC just got caught doing what(unfortunately) happens all the time.
I have done the right thing by helping patients first and gotten screwed later plenty of times by the insurance company and by patients with not paying. That is why I no longer accept insurance.
I can see why there is a desire to stick it to the insurance companies but you have to consider what is the ethical path. I think the DC probably deserves to be slapped for what he did and the bad press will more than take care of that.
Also - the guy did say he found an ethical chiropractor that treated him.
Also II - $125 for 2 visits seems reasonable and customary. $550 seemed high.. but it cost me $380 for 1 visit at a Doc in a box to tell me I didn't have strep throat - that was a rip off!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Umm yeah..
They treat symptoms, and go out of their way not to address causes. Yeah, when you walk out of the office you might feel better, but if you don't change the practices that put you there in the first place, you're just going to end up in pain again and back in the office.
Go see a Physical or Occupational Therapist. They might not make you feel better immediately, and they might ask you to make some changes, but ultimately you're solving the problem.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Umm yeah..
In the future the line will be blurred between what chiros, physios, and athletic trainers will be blurred as all incorporate each others research for the good of the patient.
As with anything in life, make sure you are getting results. Depending on the condition, you should see some progress. I expect at least 20% improvement after the first 2 visits.
Am I off topic yet??????
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
SLAPP?
Also, this is old (2 months minimum). http://consumerist.com/5098559/chiropractor-sues-patient-over-negative-yelp-review
Suspiciously or not, all the other reviews are extremely satisfied, which calls to wonder if someone just got pissed or not. Either way, a lawsuit is not the way to resolve stuff like that.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
news flash!
sad that people throw their money away on SCAMS like this and homeopathy, truly just sad.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: news flash!
... There, back on topic!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: news flash!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: news flash!
I always associate inflammation with rubor, dolar, palor and kolar. I am not a wordsmith and should stick with chiropractoring.
Irony is awesome!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Selling magic?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
TORT LAW
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
i think i just threw up a little in my mouth.
my smug arrogance is quite firmly in place, thank you.
for anyone doubting the silliness and danger of chiropractic a good source are episodes 10, 11, + 27 of the quackcast podcast
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Ans:
Medicare, private carrier insurance,
Major sports franchises and professional athletes,
dance companies,
hospital ERs,
and.....yo mama.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
did i just threaten to sue myself??
listen buddy, there is room for only one nipsey here.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
fraudulent allegations and defamation
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: fraudulent allegations and defamation
You would be a "HATER" too if you received bad service! You would warn others to stay away from this horrible place too if you got scammed by their "shady" service. We are NOT spreading "malicious gossips or threatening anyone here". We have just been warning the public of the unethical & VERY incompetent service VDC provided us! Take it from us...a patient that experienced the worst pain from bad dental work..learn from patients that paid over $4K in dental work that was not only useless, but made things worse!! Learn from a patient that was denied patient care after "dr" Tuazon performed dental work, & could only say"go seek another dentists opinion". This is ONLY a small amount of VDC's unprofessional service. They claim that I am a "wolf in sheeps clothing". LOL Whatever that means...they are the ones that need to look in the mirror. They had the audacity to cry wolf to the Solano Court system and get a restraining order...ALL because we wanted to take our business elsewhere and wanted a copy of our own dental records. All we did was get the complete runaround and BS excuses that it was not ready. Of course not, it's because "dr" Tuazon needed time to alter/delete papers in our records!! To THIS DAY, he still has not given our new dentist a copy of the records, after dozens of requests. We challenge ANYONE to contact this office and ask why they refused to hold onto our records. Anyone with common sense can tell that these people have something to hide and are the TRUE pathological liars. When a business has negative reports in the Better Business Bureau and was taken to court TWICE in one year, that is more than enough info that their business needs to be avoided. Don't be scammed and victimized like us..AVOID the Tuazons and their horrific "dental services"...Vacaville Dental sCare!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: fraudulent allegations and defamation
You would be a "HATER" too if you received bad service! You would warn others to stay away from this horrible place too if you got scammed by their "shady" service. We are NOT spreading "malicious gossips or threatening anyone here". We have just been warning the public of the unethical & VERY incompetent service VDC provided us! Take it from us...a patient that experienced the worst pain from bad dental work..learn from patients that paid over $4K in dental work that was not only useless, but made things worse!! Learn from a patient that was denied patient care after "dr" Tuazon performed dental work, & could only say"go seek another dentists opinion". This is ONLY a small amount of VDC's unprofessional service. They claim that I am a "wolf in sheeps clothing". LOL Whatever that means...they are the ones that need to look in the mirror. They had the audacity to cry wolf to the Solano Court system and get a restraining order...ALL because we wanted to take our business elsewhere and wanted a copy of our own dental records. All we did was get the complete runaround and BS excuses that it was not ready. Of course not, it's because "dr" Tuazon needed time to alter/delete papers in our records!! To THIS DAY, he still has not given our new dentist a copy of the records, after dozens of requests. We challenge ANYONE to contact this office and ask why they refused to hold onto our records. Anyone with common sense can tell that these people have something to hide and are the TRUE pathological liars. When a business has negative reports in the Better Business Bureau and was taken to court TWICE in one year, that is more than enough info that their business needs to be avoided. Don't be scammed and victimized like us..AVOID the Tuazons and their horrific "dental services"...Vacaville Dental sCare!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: fraudulent allegations and defamation
You would be a "HATER" too if you received bad service! You would warn others to stay away from this horrible place too if you got scammed by their "shady" service. We are NOT spreading "malicious gossips or threatening anyone here". We have just been warning the public of the unethical & VERY incompetent service VDC provided us! Take it from us...a patient that experienced the worst pain from bad dental work..learn from patients that paid over $4K in dental work that was not only useless, but made things worse!! Learn from a patient that was denied patient care after "dr" Tuazon performed dental work, & could only say"go seek another dentists opinion". This is ONLY a small amount of VDC's unprofessional service. They claim that I am a "wolf in sheeps clothing". LOL Whatever that means...they are the ones that need to look in the mirror. They had the audacity to cry wolf to the Solano Court system and get a restraining order...ALL because we wanted to take our business elsewhere and wanted a copy of our own dental records. All we did was get the complete runaround and BS excuses that it was not ready. Of course not, it's because "dr" Tuazon needed time to alter/delete papers in our records!! To THIS DAY, he still has not given our new dentist a copy of the records, after dozens of requests. We challenge ANYONE to contact this office and ask why they refused to hold onto our records. Anyone with common sense can tell that these people have something to hide and are the TRUE pathological liars. When a business has negative reports in the Better Business Bureau and was taken to court TWICE in one year, that is more than enough info that their business needs to be avoided. Don't be scammed and victimized like us..AVOID the Tuazons and their horrific "dental services"...Vacaville Dental sCare!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: fraudulent allegations and defamation
You would be a "HATER" too if you received bad service! You would warn others to stay away from this horrible place too if you got scammed by their "shady" service. We are NOT spreading "malicious gossips or threatening anyone here". We have just been warning the public of the unethical & VERY incompetent service VDC provided us! Take it from us...a patient that experienced the worst pain from bad dental work..learn from patients that paid over $4K in dental work that was not only useless, but made things worse!! Learn from a patient that was denied patient care after "dr" Tuazon performed dental work, & could only say"go seek another dentists opinion". This is ONLY a small amount of VDC's unprofessional service. They claim that I am a "wolf in sheeps clothing". LOL Whatever that means...they are the ones that need to look in the mirror. They had the audacity to cry wolf to the Solano Court system and get a restraining order...ALL because we wanted to take our business elsewhere and wanted a copy of our own dental records. All we did was get the complete runaround and BS excuses that it was not ready. Of course not, it's because "dr" Tuazon needed time to alter/delete papers in our records!! To THIS DAY, he still has not given our new dentist a copy of the records, after dozens of requests. We challenge ANYONE to contact this office and ask why they refused to hold onto our records. Anyone with common sense can tell that these people have something to hide and are the TRUE pathological liars. When a business has negative reports in the Better Business Bureau and was taken to court TWICE in one year, that is more than enough info that their business needs to be avoided. Don't be scammed and victimized like us..AVOID the Tuazons and their horrific "dental services"...Vacaville Dental sCare!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]