When Robots Hold the Scalpel: Where Does Responsibility Lie?
- codeofcures
- Sep 12
- 4 min read
If a mistake occurs, should the blame fall on the surgeon, the manufacturer, or the robot itself? What’s a patient's decision-making power on robotic assistance or traditional surgery?
Published September 19, 2025
By Crystal Kong and Chloe Cherng, High School Students
As robotic systems assume a greater role in the operating room, the line between human and machine responsibility blurs. With the advent of robotically assisted surgical devices (RASDs), doctors can control precise instruments through a variety of procedures. For example, RASDs are commonly utilized to excise tumors or repair delicate segments of the vascular system, allowing surgeons to operate with remarkable accuracy while reducing the risk of human error. This has been made possible through years of research, funding, and medical innovation. Though robotic surgery offers patients minimally invasive procedures and faster recovery times, risks remain. When complications arise, questions emerge: should responsibility rest with the surgeon, the manufacturer, or the machine itself? And just as importantly, how much power should patients have in choosing between traditional hands-on surgery and robotic assistance?
Surgeon Responsibility
While robotic surgery is meant to improve performance of a surgeon, most errors in robot-assisted surgeries stem from human error rather than the machine itself. This occurs because of surgeons lacking proper training or experience with robots, making education and skill mastery critical.
Additionally, surgeons are to follow these steps when considering a robotic surgery on a patient.
Skill and Training. Ensure they have the proper training and experience to perform this surgery.
Preoperative Assessment. Must assess if a robot is appropriate for a patient’s procedure. The opportunity to control a robot and to operate without scrubbing or needing to stand may be tempting reasons to rely on this practice. However, it’s important that the surgeon assesses the patient’s case and ensures the best quality of healthcare, despite personal bias.
Physicians must fulfill informed consent. They are obligated to disclose experience level and available options–traditional or robotic.
Supervision and Decision-Making. A physician must be able to make decisions during the operation and closely monitor the robot.
If it is proven that the surgeon is at fault for not properly executing these steps, they and the hospital could face medical malpractice claims.
Manufacturer Responsibility
The robots used are designed by humans, and thus, human errors occur. In fact, researchers claim that 13 issues arise for every 10,000 procedures performed. Due to this fact, the manufacturer holds responsibility if a mistake transpires.
In the case of errors due to faulty equipment, liability claims arise. Thus, when designing and manufacturing robots, manufacturers must meet high safety and performance standards. Additionally, they must ensure quality control to test and eliminate potential defects. To ensure effective and safe operation, they must also provide user training and support to surgeons. Not properly testing devices, meeting standards, and providing guidance for usage will lead to being held accountable for patient injuries. Ultimately, patient safety must never be compromised by profit-driven innovation.
Patient Responsibility
It would never be thought that patients have responsibility if anything goes wrong with robotic surgical assistance, but they, in fact, do.
Before any health intervention, informed consent from the patient is always necessary. There are many factors involved in informed consent; the patient must be adequately informed before making their decision. When it comes to robotic assistance, there is a common misconception that a robot will be performing the entire surgery. This is not the case, as a robotic system is only an extension to the operation performed by the surgeon. Another factor included in informed consent is that the patient must be aware of all potential risks; the patient must be informed of the experience the surgeon has with the robot, as it is a fairly new innovation. Additionally, the patient must be aware of the surgeon’s preference as this plays a role into how the surgery is operated–it can affect how well they perform. The patient must be aware of all these factors in order to provide appropriate consent. The physician has a responsibility of making sure the patient’s decision is well informed, and the patient has a responsibility of going into the surgery aware of the risks that may occur.
In the event that a patient undergoes a procedure that failed or had complications, they may need to go over records to clarify the situation. To identify whether the case involved a product defect issue or a medical malpractice, patients must seek legal guidance to understand their next steps of taking legal action.
Conclusion
Robotic assistance is an extremely important innovation in the healthcare field. As usage of a robot falls outside of traditional healthcare, when a mistake occurs, figuring out accountability can be complicated. Fault would normally fall on the surgeon, but in this case, it also falls on the manufacturer, as well as the patient. It must also be understood that although technology can make certain aspects of healthcare easier, it should not be used if the risks outweigh the benefits, and a patient’s safety can be compromised–ethical principles must always be upheld.
Ultimately, only through shared responsibility can robotic assistance serve its purpose in advancing modern medicine. All parties must be accountable in order for safe, ethical healthcare to persist.
Works Cited
Eureka . (2025). Surgical Robot Errors: Who is Liable? (Surgeon vs. Manufacturer). Patsnap.com. https://eureka.patsnap.com/article/surgical-robot-errors-who-is-liable-surgeon-vs-manufacturer
Horwitz Horwitz & Associates. (2024, January 18). Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Ltd. https://www.horwitzlaw.com/faq/medical-malpractice/can-medical-robots-be-liable-for-malpractice/
Tuttle, L. (2023, May 22). Who is responsible for the failure of a surgical robot? Leeseberg & Valentine; Leeseberg Tuttle. https://www.leeseberglaw.com/blog/2023/05/who-is-responsible-for-the-failure-of-a-surgical-robot/
Wightman, S. C., David, E. A., Atay, S. M., Kim, A. W., & Angelos, P. (2020). The ethics of robotic surgical systems is a conversation of informed consent. Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery, 5, 24–24. https://doi.org/10.21037/vats.2020.02.02
Comments