Question

Nursing staff members are sitting in the lounge taking their morning break. An unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) tells the group that she thinks that the unit secretary has acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and proceeds to tell the nursing staff that the secretary probably contracted the disease from her husband, who is supposedly a drug addict. Which legal tort has the UAP violated?

a. Libel
b. Slander
c. Assault
d. Negligence

Answer 1

The UAP has violated the legal tort of slander by spreading false and damaging statements about the unit secretary having AIDS.

Step-by-step explanation:

The unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) in this scenario has violated the legal tort of slander. Slander refers to orally making false and damaging statements about someone's reputation, which the UAP does by spreading rumors about the unit secretary having acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and getting it from her drug-addicted husband.