The Washington Supreme Court Applies Strict Liability Standard to Medical Product Manufacturer’s Duty to Warn Hospitals

By Greg Johnson

In Taylor v. Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Feb 9, 2017) the Washington Supreme Court held that the Washington Product Lability Act imposes a statutory duty on manufacturers of medical products to warn hospitals of the products’ dangers when they purchase them. Manufacturers’ duty to warn purchasing hospitals is not excused by warning the doctors who use the devices because hospitals need to know the dangers of the products they purchase, which cannot be accomplished simply by the manufacturers’  warnings to the doctors who use the products. A copy of the Washington Supreme Court’s opinion can be found here: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/?fa=opinions.disp&filename=922101MAJ