AI Medical Decisions: Where Liability Actually Sits

Medical AI liability sits with humans (physicians, hospitals, vendors) in different ways depending on use case and FDA status; design and documentation determine where it lands.

What AI does well here

• Maintain physician decision authority and documentation (AI assists, physician decides)
• Document AI limitations in patient-facing materials and informed consent
• Maintain vendor agreements that allocate liability appropriately
• Build incident-investigation processes that include AI factor analysis

What AI cannot do

• Substitute AI for the physician's accountability for patient care
• Eliminate liability through contract terms (some risks aren't transferable)
• Replace medical malpractice coverage with AI-specific policies that don't exist yet