Intuitive Surgical moves to block consolidation of patient injury lawsuits
Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) objected to attempts to merge a handful of patient injury lawsuits into a single case before a judge in Mississippi.

The device maker argued that the existing lawsuits had enough overlapping elements and were close enough geographically to make coordination between the cases a simple matter, and thus consolidation of the lawsuits "unwarranted."

Intuitive’s lawyers further argued that the plaintiffs, in having only 4 lawsuits to consolidate, would have an "especially heavy burden" in demonstrating that merging the cases is necessary or convenient, according to court filings.

"To be clear, Intuitive strongly supports coordination among the pending cases, but here, such coordination can be achieved without the creation of an MDL," according to court documents.

The plaintiffs  – Jennifer Silvestrini of Louisiana; Gilmore McCalla of New York; Gwendolyn Jones and Amos Jones Jr. of Alabama; and Patricia Mayfield of Mississippi – filed for an MDL late last month, asking that their cases and "any and all additional related actions that may be brought … against similar defendants" be removed to the U.S. District Court for Southern Mississippi, under Judge Carlton Wayne Reeves, "or alternatively, to the Northern District of California."

All 4 cases allege that the da Vinci surgical robot was at fault in causing patient injury or death, and further accuse Intuitive Surgical of failing to provide sufficient physician training and support and failing to provide patients with adequate information on the risks of robot-assisted surgery.

One lawsuit filed mid-May also accused ISRG of marketing through “intimidation.”
Read more

Read more medical device legal news from MassDevice.com

 Coloplast sues C.R. Bard for pelvic sling patent infringement
Coloplast (CPH:COLO B) filed a patent infringement against C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR), alleging that Bard’s Ajust pelvic slings and Alyte grafts, used to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse in women, infringe Coloplast’s patented technology.
Read more

 Court of Appeals rules in Stryker’s favor in insurance lawsuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled in Stryker‘s (NYSE:SYK) favor that TIG Insurance Company may still be liable for paying out part of an insurance policy relating to expired artificial knee joints made by Stryker. The case was remanded for further proceedings.
Read more