Device Maker Must Warn Purchasing Hospital of Device’s Risks, Wash. Supreme Court Rules

TACOMA, Wash. — The Washington Product Liability Act imposes on manufacturers of medical devices a duty to not only warn the treating surgeon of a device’s risks, but also hospitals that purchased the device, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled in a case involving the da Vinci System surgical robot.

In a Feb. 9 opinion, the court reasoned that because hospitals have an independent duty of care to their patients. need product warnings to design a credentialing process that will keep patients as safe as possible.

In 2008, Fred Taylor was treated for prostate cancer by Dr. Scott Bildsten. Despite …