High Court Finds Doctor Can't Sue for Defamation After Fraud Accusations

Insurance groups and fraudbusters are hailing a New York high court ruling as a victory that will encourage people to report doctors who engage in deceptive billing practices. But the ruling in Robert Haar v. Nationwide lnsurance leaves physicians with little or no defamation remedy in some scenarios if they've been falsely accused. The case had been closely watched. Insurers and anti-fraud organizations feared that a ruling against Nationwide could open the floodgates for accused medical providers to use a 40-year-old state law to retaliate and sue for defamation — after the statu...