Once you have been declared innocent, you may be able to take legal action against the party that brought legal action against you. However, this also depends on the specific circumstances of your case.
Here's a hypothetical example of a situation where an individual might be able to take legal action against another party in such a situation.
Peter works at an IT company. For four consecutive years, he's been the best performing worker in the company. He's earned himself several awards working for the company. Then, one morning, while clocking in at work, Peter gets electrocuted by a live wire, sending him flying down a flight of stairs. He suffers from several broken bones and requires surgery.
Luckily for Peter, he understands how workers' compensation claims work. He then files a claim with his employer's insurer to recover medical expenses and other damages.
His employer isn't happy about Peter filing a worker's compensation claim. This is because there's a possibility that the insurance company will increase the monthly premiums the company is required to pay.
Determined to punish Peter, he wrongfully accused him of using his employer's identity to steal money from the company's accounts. The employer keeps pushing the narrative despite knowing it is false. Months later, Peter loses his job and gets arrested for identity theft. He also loses the trust of certain people in his life.
Peter then hires a criminal defense attorney to defend him against the new allegation brought by his former employer. After reviewing the case, the court rules that Peter is innocent. Consequently, all charges against him are dropped.
There are different ways an experienced attorney can help anyone in such a situation hold the other party responsible for their actions. This could be a case of defamation of character, libel, slander, malicious prosecution; you name it.
What Is Defamation of Character?
Defamation of character is when one party intentionally damages the good reputation of the other.
What Is Slander?
In personal injury lingo, slander refers to the act of making oral statements about another individual or entity with the sole purpose of damaging their reputation.
Using the example above, slander is when Peter's former employer verbally warns his colleagues about associating with him because he is a cybercriminal. The same applies if Peter's former employer warns his future employers that hiring him means risking the company's resources due to his record of committing cybercrime (remember, Peter is innocent in this situation, but the employer has a personal grudge against him).
What Is Libel?
Libel is when one party makes false statements about another, in writing, to damage their good reputation. Bear in mind that the main keyword here is “in writing.' That's the difference between slander and libel. One is done verbally, while the other occurs in writing. Either way, both are considered defamation.
What Is Malicious Prosecution?
As the name suggests, malicious prosecution is prosecution driven by malice.
Using the hypothetical example above, let's say Peter's former employer won the case against him. His defense attorneys then file an appeal, arguing that his employer did not have a legal reason to file the charges in the first place.
The lawyers also prove that Peter suffered greatly due to the charges against him. If the judge rules in Peter's favor, his attorneys can also pursue a malicious prosecution claim.
The argument here is that Peter's employer knew or should have known that their claims were baseless. In fact, they only wanted to proceed with the case because Peter had filed a worker's compensation claim for the injuries he sustained earlier in the workplace. In fact, Peter's attorneys can prove that the evidence brought against him in the initial case was doctored. This could be a case of malicious prosecution.
In other words, Peter's former employer wanted to have him charged for a crime he did not commit, something they were also aware of. Such prosecution is therefore based on malice, not facts.