Washington Supreme Court deals a blow to Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) must face another trial over whether it gave adequate warnings about using its da Vinci robot-assisted surgery platform in prostatectomies after a botched surgery in which a doctor failed to heed its warnings, the Washington Supreme Court ruled yesterday. Plaintiff Fred Taylor went in for a prostatectomy in September 2008. During the procedure, Dr. Scott Bildsten noticed that Taylor’s rectal wall was lacerated and converted from robot-assisted to open surgery, according to court documents. “Taylor’s quality of life was poor after the surgery. He suffered respiratory failure requiring ventilation, renal failure (that ultimately resolved itself), and infection. He was incontinent and had to wear a colostomy bag. He also suffered neuromuscular damage and could no longer walk without assistance. Roughly 4 years after the surgery, Taylor passed away. A doctor testified that the prostatectomy’s complications hastened his death,” according to the documents. Taylor sued a year after the procedure (the case was taken up by his wife, Josette Taylor, after his death), naming Bildsten and his partner Dr. John Hedges, their medical practice and Harrison Medical Center and eventually Intuitive Surgical. Taylor settled with all of the defendants except Intuitive, which was cleared after a jury found that it was not negligent in its warnings or instructions to Bildsten on using the da Vinci device in prostatectomies. The jury h...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Tags: Legal News Product Liability Robot-Assisted Surgery Intuitive Surgical Source Type: news