with us, potentially beyond the product that was the subject of the action. A correction, removal, or recall could consume management and employee time and adverse publicity, harm to our reputation, or increased regulatory scrutiny could have a material adverse effect on our business results, cash flows, financial condition, or prospects.
We maintain product liability insurance coverage, among other liability insurance coverage, which includes deductible amounts and self-insured retentions. Our insurance coverage may prove to be inadequate and future policies may not be available on acceptable terms or in sufficient amounts, if at all. If a material claim is successfully brought against us relating to a self-insured liability or a liability that is in excess of our insurance coverage, or for which insurance coverage is denied or limited, we could be required to pay substantial damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our business results, financial position, or prospects. Any litigation, investigation, or complaint and any adverse publicity surrounding such allegations or actions could have a material adverse effect on our business results, cash flows, financial condition, or prospects.
Moreover, we may face substantial liability to patients, customers, and others for damages resulting from the faulty, or allegedly faulty, design, manufacture, installation, servicing, support, testing, or interoperability of our products with other products, or their misuse or failure. Our products generally operate within our customers’ facilities and network systems. Human and other errors or accidents may occur during the operation of our products in complex environments, particularly where our products are used in conjunction with products from other vendors, where interoperability or data sharing protocols may result in unsatisfactory performance even though the equipment operates according to specifications. In addition, independent service organizations could fail to adequately perform their obligations or to properly service our products, which could subject us to further liability. We may also be subject to claims for property damage, economic loss, or bodily injury or death related to or resulting from the installation, servicing, and support of our products. Any accident, mistreatment, or related injury or death could cause us to incur legal costs, subject us to litigation, recall, or regulatory enforcement actions, or generate negative publicity and cause damage to our reputation, whether or not we or our products were at fault and could have a material adverse effect on our business results, cash flows, financial condition, or prospects.
We may become involved in litigation, arbitration, and governmental proceedings, including those stemming from third-party conduct beyond our control.
We are involved in, or threatened with, legal, arbitration, and governmental proceedings or investigations from time to time in the ordinary course of our business and heightened scrutiny in the healthcare industry, including disputes with employees, competitors, customers, suppliers, competition authorities, regulators and other authorities, purported whistle-blowers, or regulatory agencies concerning allegations of, among other things, breaches of contract, product liability, product defects, intellectual property infringement, logistics or manufacturing related topics, quality regulations, EH&S or employment issues, termination of business relationship, or alleged or suspected violations of applicable laws in various jurisdictions. The outcome of pending or potential future legal, arbitration, and governmental proceedings is difficult to predict, and excessive verdicts do occur. If such proceedings are determined adversely to us, we may be required to change our business practices or we may incur fines, penalties, or monetary losses, some of which may be significant or could disrupt the operation of our business. Exposure to litigation or other government action, whether directed at us, our customers, suppliers, or channel partners, or our or their respective business partners, could also result in the distraction of management resources and adversely affect our reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business results, cash flows, financial condition, or prospects. Like other companies in our industry, we are subject to investigations and extensive regulation by government agencies around the world. As a result, we have interactions with government agencies on an ongoing basis. Criminal charges and substantial fines or civil penalties, as well as limitations on our ability to conduct business in applicable jurisdictions, could result from government investigations. See Note 14, “Commitments, Guarantees, Product Warranties, and Other Loss Contingencies—Legal Matters” to the audited combined financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
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