A grieving widow is suing a medical manufacturer, claiming the device punctured her wife’s organs during treatment for colon cancer, ultimately causing her death.
Harvey Salzer, husband of the late Sandra Salzer. The lawsuit was filed on February 6th. He filed a lawsuit against Intuitive Surgical (IS) claiming that his wife suffered health complications after undergoing surgery using the company’s surgical robot.
According to the complaint, Sandra underwent surgery in September 2021 at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital to treat her colon cancer using a da Vinci multi-arm remote control device.
of device is advertised It is a minimally invasive procedure that “enables precision beyond the limits of the human hand” and is “designed to provide surgeons with natural dexterity when operating through small incisions.” is possible.
The suit alleges that Sandra required additional medical intervention because the device caused burns and holes in her small intestine.
After the procedure, Sandra continued to suffer from abdominal pain and fever, and died in February 2022. This is a “direct and proximate result of the injuries she sustained,” the lawsuit alleges.
According to the complaint, IS knew that the robot had insulation problems that could cause internal burns (due to an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2009 to 2011). (many reports were found), but claim that they did not disclose the dangers. Whether it’s the Sulzer family or an ordinary person.
IS also claims that it has received thousands of reports of injuries and defects related to surgical robots, but that injuries are “systematically underreported” to the FDA.
according to 2014 Financial Report According to IS filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company was at the time “a defendant in approximately 93 lawsuits alleging that they or a family member suffered various personal injuries as a result of surgical procedures utilizing the Da Vinci Surgical System.” said. And in some cases, death can occur as a result of such an operation. ”
last year, The company told the SEC: The company said in its annual report that it was a defendant in “numerous individual product liability lawsuits” involving the same allegations.
A recent lawsuit also alleges that the manufacturer sells the robot to hospitals that have no experience with robotic surgery and do not properly train surgeons on how to use the da Vinci device.
What a 2018 NBC News investigation revealed Although IS offers a training program, it cannot legally require surgeons to complete it, he said.
VCG (via Getty Images)
IS introduced the first model of the da Vinci system in 1999 as one of the first surgical robots. The device was approved by the FDA a year later, but has since been criticized for a number of flaws.
Harvey is suing IS for more than $75,000 in damages, including product liability for negligence, design defects and failure to warn, loss of consortium, and punitive damages.
