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The NAM filed an amicus brief in the Washington Supreme Court to argue against expanding the “learned intermediary” duty to warn in products liability law. The plaintiff appealed from a lower court holding that Intuitive Surgical Inc. was not required to notify the hospital that bought the surgical device about risks because the manufacturer properly notified the doctor who used it. Medical device manufacturers are concerned about expanded requirements to warn multiple parties about potential risks of using a device and potential increased liability. The NAM’s brief argued that Intuitive did not have a direct duty to warn the plaintiff or the hospital of risks associated with the device because the physician was the learned intermediary and that the court should maintain the fault-based failure-to-warn standard for all prescription medical products rather than a strict liability standard. Unfortunately, the Washington Supreme Court found that the company had a duty to warn both the hospital that bought the device and the doctor who used it, and that the learned intermediary doctrine only applies to warnings that are owed to patients, not hospitals.