A Port Macquarie surgeon is suing Google for defamation over an auto-complete search suggestion that he believes has cost him clients.

Google has been involved in several lawsuits around the world in the past year revolving around its autocomplete suggestions and has increasingly been held responsible for content on its search pages.

A screenshot of the false Google search result.

The suit, filed by Dr Guy Hingston in the US district court in California, claims that when you type "Guy Hin ..." into Google the words "Guy Hingston bankrupt" appear in the auto-complete. He claims this is defamatory as he is not bankrupt.

Dr Hingston's Australian lawyers Beazley Singleton had written to Google Australia in December threatening legal action. The firm wrote Dr Hingston had "lost a number of patients and financiers [who] are refusing to deal with our client as a consequence of the reference on google which is associated with his name".