Medical devices and managing product liability risks

February 2020

The term "medical devices" covers an enormous range of products, from plasters you can buy from a pharmacy or supermarket, to cardiac pacemakers and MRI scanners – but it also covers software. The increasing use of AI, apps, wearable products and new technologies also raises interesting questions around regulatory and product liability risks.

In this instalment in our Life Sciences Disputes series, we look at medical device product liability. Starting with an incident report to a regulator, we follow the potential issues that a manufacturer might face such as regulatory investigations, coroners' inquests, product liability claims and reputational damage. We also look at ways a manufacturer can mitigate these risks.


If you have any questions on this article or would like to propose a subject to be addressed by Synapse please contact us.

Doctor using VR

Katie Chandler


Katie is a partner in our Dispute Resolution team, specialising in large, high-value contractual disputes, technology disputes and product liability litigation and investigations.

Tasmina Goryaya


Tasmina is a partner in our Life Sciences team, specialising in contentious and non-contentious regulatory and patent law.

Timothy Pinto


Timothy is senior counsel in our IP/IT team, specialising in trade marks, copyright, media and advertising matters.