Also known as: loathsome disease
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A category of statements in defamation law that impute to the plaintiff a contagious disease carrying severe social stigma such as leprosy or venereal disease. Imputation of such a disease renders the statement slander per se and supports liability without proof of special harm.
Layla Lane told five artists at a gallery opening that Leah Lamb had contracted an incurable disfiguring venereal disease and spread it in the art community. The listeners were part of the local scene where Leah worked. Leah later learned of the statements and sued for slander without alleging any economic loss. The statements imputed a loathsome disease so liability attached without proof of special harm.
Lola Langley told reporters that Lucy Liu had been diagnosed with leprosy after a trip abroad. The statements reached several colleagues in the publishing industry where Lucy sought assignments. Lucy sued for slander and offered no evidence of lost income. Because the statements imputed a loathsome disease the claim proceeded without proof of special damages.
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The category is limited to diseases that are both contagious and socially stigmatizing such as plague leprosy and venereal disease. Courts have held that cancer does not qualify because modern attitudes do not produce the same ostracism. Medical advances have largely frozen the list at these traditional examples.
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The law presumes harm to reputation from statements that impute a loathsome disease because such accusations historically led to social ostracism. This presumption dispenses with the usual requirement in slander cases that the plaintiff prove actual pecuniary loss.
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Liability turns on whether the statement imputes the disease not on the speaker's belief or verification. Lack of knowledge may support a defense such as truth or privilege but does not prevent the statement from falling into the slander per se category.
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A statement must directly impute the disease itself rather than merely report an investigation or suspicion. Listeners must understand the words as asserting that the plaintiff has the stigmatized condition for the per se rule to apply.
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