‘Technology, harm and the future of liability’ – Harry Lambert published in LexisNexis

In this article, published by LexisNexis, Harry Lambert explores how existing liability principles may apply to harms caused by AI technologies and the practical challenges claimants may face in bringing such claims. 

The article explores the following questions:

• Are UK courts likely to see claims similar to the social media addiction litigation emerging in the US against AI providers?
• Could AI providers face liability where chatbot outputs reinforce delusions, harmful beliefs or other mental health conditions?
• What challenges would claimants face in establishing causation in such claims?
• What liability risks are created by the growth of AI companion and conversational AI technologies?
• How might the increasing use of AI tools by NHS patients and clinicians affect future clinical negligence claims and where would liability lie when AI-generated outputs contribute to patient harm?

This article follows Harry’s recent success in Roome v The Senior Coroner 2026 (EWHC 1808), which won a fresh inquest into the death of 14-year-old Jools Sweeney due to the question of whether social media data was investigated well enough in the first inquiry. This was the first time in England & Wales that a fresh inquest has been ordered specifically to allow proper examination of a deceased child’s social media and device data. It will, for the first time, draw on powers under the Online Safety Act 2023 and the Data Use and Access Act 2025 to compel social media companies to disclose data relevant to a child’s death.

You can read the whole article here: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/legal/news/technology-harm-the-future-of-liability-commentary

Find out more

Harry Lambert is Barrister and Coroner specialising in the areas of product liability, clinical negligence, and human rights law. He is also renowned for his expertise in group litigation claims relating to these areas. He has carved out a unique market reputation at the intersection of law, social media and AI. Harry has written extensively on the subject, including on tortious liability for algorithmic wrongs in JPIL, and a 3 part series in the NLJ asking whether social media can be conceptualised as a defective product. This expertise drives his practice: Harry acts for a number of bereaved parents who have lost children to social media harms including the high-profile Ellen Roome inquest involving the ‘Blackout Challenge’.

To find out more about Harry, contact Paul Barton on +44 (0)20 7427 4907 or Ben Fitzgerald on +44 (0)20 7427 4945

External Publications 24 Jul, 2026