It happened to me before!
To answer your question
Can I be blamed for people leaving?
Short answer: No, but the management might blame you. Overall, it doesn't matter because sooner or later they might forget it. It's just that they can't move on and still dwelling in that situation, which means that chances are it indicates a serious mismanagement issue.
My resignation has been high profile. I did not send emails or anything, but word spread quickly and I am having people approaching me on a daily basis telling me that they just resigned, they are planning to resign, or they are interviewing.
This is exactly the same thing that I've considered during that time, due to the fact that they smell that you are leaving a good chance is they also want to leave that company it's just that you are lucky to be the first one. If other person triggered it, same thing will happen.
Can a company create a case where they blame an employee for follow-up resignations?
Yes, chances are they will give you a negative review.
Solution: Just reference another employee, the one that you trust and the one who really knows the real situation.