title: Letters, libel, and the law.
abstract: Authors of scientific articles and journal editors are subject to antidefamation publication laws. We describe our experience with an accusation of libel. We define libel as it involves the medical literature and explain the ways in which threats of libel influence editorial decisionmaking and lead to negative publication bias by presenting examples drawn from the medical and legal literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19141, USA. omalleyg@einstein.edu
authors.forename: Gerald F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: O'Malley
authors.forename: Carl R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Chudnofsky
authors.forename: Terry L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Sontag
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D018156:Journalism, Medical; D016365:Liability, Legal; D017594:Publication Bias; D011643:Publishing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States