AMA Pushes for Legal Immunity from AI Error Liability for Doctors
The AMA is lobbying for legal protections shielding doctors from AI-related liability.
Why it matters: With AI rapidly entering healthcare, clarifying liability is crucial for physicians and legal experts to ensure safe and accountable AI use.
- The American Medical Association urges federal and state lawmakers to protect physicians from liability if AI tools cause harm when used as intended.
- AMA calls for AI to be integrated into physician-led teams and used under treating physicians' direction.
- The AMA and FSMB released a report on AI accountability in medicine outlining responsibility frameworks.
- AMA seeks model legislation separating medical technology authorization from medical licensure and restricting AI from holding physician titles.
The American Medical Association (AMA) is advocating for legal reforms to protect physicians from liability when artificial intelligence (AI) tools cause patient harm, provided doctors use these technologies as intended. This move addresses increasing questions about accountability amid AI’s rapid integration into healthcare.
In a policy statement, the AMA emphasizes that AI-enabled tools should function within physician-led care teams, with ultimate decision-making by the treating physician. The association stresses that liability should align with each party's authority and ability to prevent or mitigate harm, rather than disproportionately burdening physicians.
On November 12, 2026, the AMA and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) jointly released the report "AI and the Practice of Medicine: Examining Accountability and Responsibility in the AI Era", which lays out frameworks to clarify responsibility among physicians, developers, and healthcare organizations.
AMA President Willie Underwood III highlighted the balance needed: "Patients must have meaningful avenues for recourse when clinical AI causes harm, and physicians must be able to use these technologies with confidence that responsibility reflects what they can reasonably know and control." He added, "Physicians also need the authority, oversight and liability protections to make independent decisions when AI is part of the care team."
The AMA’s policy also calls for tailored legislation that distinguishes the authorization of a medical technology from professional licensure and prohibits misrepresenting AI or other non-human entities with titles reserved for licensed physicians. This aligns with their position that AI tools should augment, not replace, physician expertise, as outlined in their recent press release.
This advocacy signals growing demand for lawmakers and healthcare leaders to clarify legal liability as AI adoption accelerates, enabling safe and ethically accountable use of emerging technologies in clinical settings.