Civil Liability for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Is There a Need For a New Paradigm?

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11220%2F25%3A10505966" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11220/25:10505966 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=0BrfDS0LBg" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=0BrfDS0LBg</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

—

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Civil Liability for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Is There a Need For a New Paradigm?

Original language description

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into medical practice raises pressing questions for civil liability law. While AI systems promise enhanced diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities, their autonomous and opaque black box nature poses unique legal challenges. This paper investigates whether existing tort law frameworks, particularly within the Czech legal system, are sufficient to address harms caused by medical AI. It systematically analyses three core liability regimes: breach of the standard of care, strict liability based on a defect of a thing or product, and liability for damage caused by a thing in and of itself. The authors argue that, although each presents interpretive and evidentiary difficulties in the context of AI, none is fundamentally unfit for addressing AI-related harms. Instead of advocating for a wholly new legal regime or the creation of a fictive electronic person, the paper supports a cautious evolution of existing doctrines, refined through case law, medical guidelines, and professional standards. Special attention is given to the distinction between certified medical AI devices and general-purpose systems like large language models. The authors also explore the implications of EU legislation, notably the AI Act. The paper concludes that legal conservatism, rooted in pragmatism, may serve the justice system best as the practical use of AI in medicine continues to unfold.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_SC - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the SCOPUS database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

50501 - Law

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

The Lawyer Quarterly

ISSN

1805-8396

e-ISSN

1805-840X

Volume of the periodical

15

Issue of the periodical within the volume

4

Country of publishing house

CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC

Number of pages

21

Pages from-to

464-484

UT code for WoS article

—

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105025914996