Civil liability in the field of biomedical engineering and medical physics

The article deals with the protection the law provides against risks emanating from the use of biomedical equipment. After a brief discussion of public safety regulations, it turns to civil liability for damages involving patients or other persons. Doctors and hospitals using or failing to use biomedical equipment can be held liable for negligent conduct only. The standards of care to be observed in biomedical engineering are thus explained, as is the correct use of the equipment, the safety precautions to be taken, and the expertise of the operator. Another very important subject of the article is the liability of the manufacturers of biomedical equipment. Finally, the extremely difficult question is discussed as to what extent doctors and hospitals are obliged to acquire new but very expensive equipment, and what are the economic limits of this obligation.