{
  "id": 19796675,
  "title": "Doctors want liability shield from AI mistakes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/doctors-want-liability-shield-from-ai-mistakes",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-13T10:30:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Axios",
    "slug": "axios",
    "url": "https://www.axios.com/2026/11/13/doctors-ai-mistakes-liability-shield"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The American Medical Association (AMA) is advocating for new legal safeguards to shield doctors from liability when artificial intelligence (AI) systems used in healthcare harm patients. This push comes as AI tools become more prevalent in medical practices, blurring the lines of responsibility and raising questions about who should be held accountable for errors. The AMA argues that, in cases where mandatory AI systems result in patient harm, manufacturers, vendors, and health systems should bear the responsibility, rather than the individual physicians who rely on the technology as intended. The organization is also pushing for legislation to require AI companies to provide adequate liability insurance and disclose product limitations and performance data. This issue has gained urgency as AI systems increasingly make critical decisions, such as ordering tests or prescribing medications, with less direct oversight from doctors. The AMA's stance is echoed by legal and medical experts who point to potential triage errors and the risk of AI systems making recommendations based on incomplete or outdated information. Legal precedents, such as a recent wrongful death case involving a heart screening tool, show that companies may not always be held liable due to licensing agreements. However, the complex nature of AI systems, with multiple parties involved in their development and deployment, complicates matters further. The FDA is also considering a new framework for regulating AI-enabled medical devices, but currently oversees only those that meet the definition of a medical device, not all AI applications in healthcare. Hospitals generally support placing the responsibility on developers and vendors for monitoring AI system performance, citing the \"black box\" nature of many systems as a challenge in identifying flaws.",
  "summary": "The rapid deployment of artificial intelligence in hospitals and clinics is leading the nation's biggest physicians group to lobby for new legal protections if AI harms patients. Why it matters: The use of increasingly sophisticated AI tools and recommendations is blurring the lines around negligence in health care, raising questions about whether doctors should be held responsible for decisions…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}