Dr Murad Ibrahim files defamation proceedings in County Court

A Melbourne doctor has hauled a woman to court over alleged defamation after she posted negative reviews about his medical practice online, including claims of sexual misconduct.

Dr Murad Ibrahim took a woman to court over online reviews she posted that he alleged damaged his reputation.

A doctor has lost a bid to prove that negative reviews posted by a Melbourne woman about his clinic on social media, including alleged sexual misconduct, caused him harm.

Respiratory physician Dr Murad Ibrahim filed proceedings against the woman in the County Court, alleging that she posted nine reviews on Google, Yellow Pages and Yelp under various names between January 3 and January 26, 2024 that were defamatory and caused serious harm to his reputation.

Dr Ibrahim has been running Mitcham Rd Consulting Suites in Nunawading for 13 years and is involved in all aspects of the business including promotion and online marketing.

He is also the medical director at Knox Private Hospital and trains junior medical staff at Eastern Health.

According to0 court documents, In her reviews, the woman alleged sexual misconduct, negligence, poor service, disregard for patients’ wellbeing and intimidation by staff at Dr Ibrahim’s clinic.

Dr Murad Ibrahim could not prove in his defamation proceedings case that negative reviews of his medical practice caused cancellation of appointments, among other things.

She also alleged high turnover of specialists and poorly performed medical procedures.

“Will prioritise themselves over patients. Search them all up and see that they do not care about the people they’re treating. No wonder many doctors have left this clinic,” she wrote.

Dr Ibrahim told the court that the negative reviews resulted in a number of cancellations of appointments, loss of revenue and the fact he had to disclose the reviews to the management at Knox Private Hospital.

In January 2024, he said his application for a position with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) was declined and said the court could infer that the reason was her negative reviews.

In response, the woman said the court could not infer the reasons for appointment cancellations were her reviews or that they caused anyone to think less of Dr Ibrahim.

In March 2023, she said Dr Ibrahim’s practice had 10 specialists but that number halved by October of that year and a year later, only three remained.

Judge Julie Clayton said a fundamental problem with Dr Ibrahim’s case was that he had failed to provide evidence as to what actions or effects arose from each posting.

She said there was very little engagement with the reviews and the extent of publication was extremely limited.

“The reviews were nasty and designed to hurt the business and by extension Dr Ibrahim. They have the flavour of a vendetta and appear to be a form of spleen venting,’’ she said.

“I accept they caused Dr Ibrahim stress, anxiety, hurt and embarrassment. However this is insufficient to meet the test for serious harm.”