LIABILITY FOR MEDICAL ERROR INVOLVING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN DIAGNOSIS – A REGULATORY GAP IN POLISH MEDICAL LAW
LIABILITY FOR MEDICAL ERROR INVOLVING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN DIAGNOSIS – A REGULATORY GAP IN POLISH MEDICAL LAW

Summary/Abstract: The development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in healthcare presents Polish medical law with a range of new normative challenges. This is particularly evident in matters concerning liability for diagnostic errors involving clinical decision support systems based on AI. The aim of this article is to analyse situations in which a physician relies on an AI system in the diagnostic process, which results in patient harm. In such cases, it remains unclear whether liability should be attributed to the physician, the entity providing the technology, the manufacturer, or the healthcare institution. Current Polish legal frameworks do not offer explicit regulations in this regard, and the absence of a statutory definition of medical error only intensifies this uncertainty. The article reviews existing provisions of Polish civil law, with selected references to administrative regulations, in order to demonstrate the need for new norms addressing responsibility in human-algorithm interaction. It also examines key issues such as the physician’s duty to inform the patient about the use of AI and the legal implications of obtaining informed consent. The article concludes with recommendations aimed at facilitating a structured legal and ethical debate on the creation of a coherent medico-technological liability model within the Polish legal system. Without such reforms, both physicians and patients are left exposed to legal ambiguity, which may undermine trust in emerging technologies.

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