Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in California

libel, personal accusations, medical license

I am a medical doctor in the USA applying for a state license. During medical school there was a man (who was in love with me and whom I rejected who was a faculty at the medical shool) who wrote accusatory anonymous letters about me to administration accusing me of dishonesty ( i.e. lying on my medical school application) and sent them a picture as 'evidence' that he altered with photoshop. The picture was stolen from my apartment.

The medical school disregarded these. I feared for my safety for a while (and so did they), as these were written with a lot of hate. I, however, felt there was a stain on my reputation in my medial school's eyes, and that he probably sent similar letters to licensing bodies as well. I know that he was reprimanded by the aministration for sexual harassment of me and other female students.

My question is: if these similar anonymous letters were indeed sent to the medical board, would they even be considered, i.e. are they obligated to respond to a hateful letter about a physician with a random picture attached and do I have any legal rights around this false ''evidence'' that was stolen from my personal things and digitally altered (since it is impossible to prove who sent it?


Asked on 10/05/07, 8:53 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: libel, personal accusations, medical license

Of course you "have rights". What they are depends upon what happens. You could sue the culprit, but that only does anything positive if the person actually has assets to collect a judgment from. You can defend against the accusations with your own evidence. You should hire counsel to help you in this, to make a strong presentation going in. Feel free to contact me if interested in doing so.

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Answered on 10/09/07, 1:00 pm
Michael Kirschbaum Law Offices of Michael R. Kirschbaum

Re: libel, personal accusations, medical license

Depending on the strength of your evidence, you may have some options, ranging from an attorney writing a cease and desist letter, obtaining a restraining order against this person, up to suing him for defamation and invasion of privacy. You'll need to review the specifics with an attorney to get a better assessment of your case and the most viable options available to you.

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Answered on 10/06/07, 3:28 pm


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