Artificial Intelligence is transforming the medical field by offering new insights that improve patient care. However, this increasing use of AI raises new debates in clinical negligence. One key debate is how to determine liability when a doctor follows misleading guidance provided by AI.
A notable example of AI supporting physicians is in the field of radiology. AI systems can analyse X-Rays and MRI scans, identifying patterns and potential medical conditions that human observation may miss. Furthermore, AI can be used in cancer diagnoses. It can assist in analysing mammograms by identifying extremely early signs of breast cancer that may go unnoticed by human eyes.
The field of clinical negligence is likely to undergo significant transformation due to a reliance on AI tools without human oversight. For example, in July 2025, a healthy patient in their twenties received a letter inviting them to a diabetic eye screening, despite not being diabetic. Current government guidelines state that NHS organisations may still be liable for claims arising from AI use as doctors still have a duty to critically assess their sources.
The NHS is currently using AI to predict potential claims before they occur. The NHS AI analysis demonstrated which trusts and specialties have higher levels of incidents. It also suggested a correlation between longer referral times and a higher number of claims. This analysis is likely to allow the NHS to identify patterns, therefore reducing the numbers of incidents. The implications for clinical negligence are that cases are likely to reduce in number but become more complex. It is likely that there will be more defendants involved which would include doctors, NHS trusts, but now also AI firms and technology companies.
Overall, the rise of AI is likely to change the world of clinical negligence by changing the types of claims submitted. An improvement in the quality of X-Rays, MRI scans and cancer diagnoses is likely to reduce the numbers of claims related to these. However, a potential overreliance on AI could affect the types of claims submitted as AI firms and technology companies could become involved in the claims process.