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Liability for personal injuries caused by defective medical computer programs

V M Brannigan, R E Dayhoff

    American Journal of Law & Medicine
    |January 1, 1981
    PubMed
    Summary

    Defective medical computer programs may soon lead to legal liability for manufacturers and hospitals. Courts will likely treat these programs as products, applying strict liability for patient injuries caused by defects.

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    Area of Science:

    • Medical Informatics
    • Law and Technology
    • Product Liability

    Background:

    • The increasing prevalence of computer programs in medicine presents new risks of patient harm.
    • Legal precedents for patient injuries caused by defective medical software are currently lacking.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To examine the legal questions surrounding patient injuries caused by defective medical computer programs.
    • To explore the application of negligence and strict products liability doctrines to medical software.

    Main Methods:

    • Analysis of the characteristics of medical computer programs.
    • Examination of existing tort law doctrines (negligence, strict products liability).

    Main Results:

    • Medical computer programs are likely to be classified as "products" by courts.
    • Manufacturers of defective medical software will face strict liability for resulting patient injuries.

    Conclusions:

    • Hospitals may incur new liabilities as manufacturers or distributors of medical computer programs.
    • This legal shift necessitates careful consideration of software quality and risk management in healthcare settings.

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