Artificial intelligence now plays a role in a growing share of the medical care patients receive, from software that flags abnormalities on a scan to algorithms that help guide diagnoses and treatment decisions. When an AI-powered device or tool contributes to a misdiagnosis, a delayed diagnosis, or an injury, patients and families are often left wondering who is responsible. It can even be difficult to identify that AI tools were used at all, but our medical malpractice attorneys at HGSK Law Firm are prepared to investigate these cases and get to the bottom of what happened.
AI’s Growing Role in Medical Care
The FDA has authorized well over a thousand AI-enabled medical devices for use in the United States, the large majority of them in radiology, where AI software helps detect and characterize findings on imaging studies. AI tools are also being used in cardiology, pathology, and increasingly in software that assists with clinical documentation and triage. As adoption grows across hospitals and outpatient practices, including those serving Lancaster County, so does the potential for something to go wrong when a tool malfunctions, is used incorrectly, or is relied on without appropriate human oversight.
How Can AI Medical Devices Contribute to Patient Harm?
Injuries connected to AI-enabled medical devices generally arise in a few ways:
- The software itself misreads an image or produces an inaccurate output
- A physician or provider over-relies on an AI recommendation without independently reviewing the case
- A provider ignores or dismisses an AI-flagged finding that turns out to be significant
- The device was cleared for one use, but applied in a different clinical setting
- The device malfunctions, or was not properly maintained or updated
Who May Be Held Responsible
Depending on the facts, liability in an AI medical device case can extend to the physician who relied on (or ignored) the tool’s output, the hospital or practice that implemented it, and the manufacturer that designed, trained, or marketed the software. Pennsylvania medical malpractice law still requires proof that a provider’s conduct fell below the accepted standard of care. Still, when an AI tool is part of that care, the standard-of-care analysis has to account for how the device was supposed to be used and whether the provider used it appropriately.
Why This Requires Specific Experience
Cases involving AI medical devices often call for both medical expert testimony and, in some cases, technical review of how the underlying software or algorithm functions. Few firms have taken the time to build out this kind of case. Still, our attorneys have decades of experience handling complex medical malpractice matters and are committed to applying that experience to this evolving area of medicine and law.
What to Do If You Suspect an AI Tool Contributed to Your Injury
Request your complete medical records, including any notes referencing the device used during your diagnosis or treatment. Note the device or platform name, if known, and track the timeline from when a finding became available to when you were told or treated.
Talk to a Lancaster AI Medical Device Attorney
If you or a loved one was harmed by a misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or treatment decision involving an AI-powered medical device or tool, you need to understand your legal options. You deserve justice and compensation when you’ve suffered an injury by a system you trusted to protect you. If you need help, connect with our attorneys at HGSK Law Firm by calling 267-551-8782.