Another family is suing Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) over a botched hysterectomy using its da Vinci surgical robot.
The personal injury lawsuit, filed by Gwendolyn Jones and Amos Jones Jr. in the U.S. District Court for Northern Alabama, accuses Intuitive of fraudulently marketing a faulty device after her da Vinci hysterectomy allegedly went awry, leaving her with significant injuries to her left ureter and bladder.
The Jones couple wants a jury to award a total of $490 million in damages for the 7 counts it’s leveled against Intuitive, including pain & suffering, negligence, fraud, breach of warranty, unjust enrichment, and loss of consortium.
"Defendant sold it [sic] device through a calculated program of intimidation and market management, forcing hospitals and physicians to purchase it in order to appear to be competitive, and creating a fear in their minds that if they did not have this technology they would lose business to competitors," according to the lawsuit.
"This led to explosive sales and record profits for Intuitive Surgical, according to a press release from Jones attorney Dr. Francois Blaudeau. "The lawsuit claims that Intuitive Surgical knew, or should have known, about the dangers of monopolar current use on its da Vinci Surgical platform."
It’s not the first personal injury lawsuit filed against Intuitive, after the father of a 24-year-old woman who died 2 weeks after undergoing a da Vinci hysterectomy sued on the grounds that use of the system led to her death.
Judge stays Biotronik suit against Medtronic so Medtronic can finish suing ex-sales rep and Biotronik
A federal judge in Oregon stayed a lawsuit filed by German CRM player Biotronik against Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), asking the court to validate its right to hire 1 of the Minnesota med-tech titan’s sales reps, Rory Carmichael, until a breach-of-contract suit MDT filed against Carmichael winds up.
Biotronik sued Medtronic in March 2011, asking an Oregon court to declare its right to hire Carmichael, a 10-year Medtronic veteran. Last June Medtronic sued Carmichael in the U.S. District Court for Minnesota for breach of contract, later moving successfully to add Biotronik to the suit. MDT then asked the Oregon court to stay the Biotronik suit against it there and halt discovery.
Last month the U.S. District Court for Oregon agreed to stay the case, but denied Medtronic’s move to stop discovery, pending resolution of the Minnesota case.
