Da Vinci Surgical Robot

Attorneys Representing Consumers Injured by Defective Medical Devices

The da Vinci Surgical Robot has been sold to more than 2,000 hospitals across the nation. While the robot was designed to make surgery less invasive, our da Vinci lawyers know that use of the robot may not be medically necessary and may put patients at risk of serious injury or even death. Injuries reported in connection with robotic surgeries include burns, hematomas, fistulas, cut ureters, punctured intestines, severed nerves, and lacerated bladders. Further surgery may be necessary to repair the physical injuries caused by the robotic system. Almost 4,000 adverse event reports were submitted to the FDA in 2013. If you suffered injuries or a loved one was killed in connection with a da Vinci surgical robot or another defective medical device, you may need to enlist a product liability lawyer. Moll Law Group represents consumers nationwide in defective product litigation and billions of dollars have been recovered in cases in which we were involved.

Determining Accountability for Injuries Caused by a da Vinci Surgical Robot

Intuitive Surgical is the manufacturer of da Vinci Surgical Robot, which uses a high-tech camera plus four remotely operated surgical arms to permit surgeons to work with greater accuracy. The device is supposed to reduce the size of the incisions that are made. Hospitals have chosen to use the robotic system because of Intuitive's claims that it is as safe as laparoscopic surgery, but with reduced down time. In May 2013, however, Intuitive provided a warning to hospitals that a component in the robot system may be prone to cracking and increase the risk of burns. No recalls were issued.

Complaints against Intuitive typically stem from design defects and failures to warn. The design defects include the lack of insulation in the surgical arms and electrical currents that may deviate from the correct path to health organs and tissue, thereby damaging them. Liability for design defects exists when there is a foreseeable risk of injury from a product that has been manufactured according to plan and used for the purposes for which it was intended. The failure to warn allegations turn on the company's failure to warn doctors and patients of the risks of using the da Vinci Surgical Robot.

To prove design defects under a strict liability theory, plaintiffs use one of two tests: the consumer expectation test or the risk-benefit test. The application of these tests may be limited depending on the jurisdiction. Under the consumer expectation test, a product's design is unreasonably dangerous when it contains risks beyond what an ordinary consumer with ordinary knowledge as to its characteristics would expect. To prove the da Vinci Surgical Robot's design is defective under the risk-benefit test, a da Vinci lawyer would need to introduce evidence that the design was the legal cause of the injury, and the defendant must fail in proving that the benefits of the design used outweigh the risk of harm inherent in the design.

To prove a failure to warn (a marketing defect), a plaintiff must prove that the defendant manufactured, sold, or distributed the surgical robot, that the product had potential risks that were known based on the generally accepted scientific knowledge at the time of its manufacture, sale, or distribution, that the potential risks posed a substantial danger when the robot was used or misused in a reasonably foreseeable manner, that ordinary consumers would not recognize the potential risks, that the defendant failed to warn or instruct about these risks, that the plaintiff was injured, and that a substantial factor of the injury was the lack of warnings.

Protect Your Rights by Consulting an Experienced da Vinci Attorney

People who have been hurt by the use of a da Vinci Surgical Robot should consult the product liability attorneys at Moll Law Group for representation in pursuing damages. We bring product liability cases in states throughout the U.S., such as California, Florida, New York, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. Call us at 312-462-1700 or complete our online form to set up a free consultation with a da Vinci attorney.