BOCA RATON, FLORIDA – A grieving widower from Boca Raton, Florida, is filing a lawsuit against a medical manufacturer, alleging that its surgical robot caused fatal injuries to his wife during a procedure to treat her colon cancer.
Harvey Sultzer, the husband of the late Sandra Sultzer, filed a lawsuit on Feb. 6 against Intuitive Surgical (IS), claiming his wife suffered health complications following a procedure completed by their surgical robot. The lawsuit alleges that the device burned a hole in Sandra’s small intestine, which ultimately led to her death in February 2022.
The lawsuit also accuses IS of failing to disclose the risks associated with the surgical robot to the Sultzer family or to the public, claiming that the company knew about insulation issues that could cause the device to burn internal organs. Additionally, it alleges that IS has received thousands of reports about injuries and defects associated with the robot but has underreported them to the FDA.
According to a 2014 financial report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, IS was a defendant in around 93 lawsuits at the time, all alleging personal injuries and, in some cases, death as a result of surgeries that utilized the da Vinci Surgical System. The recent lawsuit also claims that the manufacturer sells its robots to hospitals with no experience in robotic surgery and does not properly train surgeons in how to use the device.
The da Vinci surgical robot, introduced in 1999 and approved by the FDA a year later, has faced numerous accusations of faults and negligence. In this case, Harvey Sultzer is suing IS for over $75,000 for negligence, product liability, including design defect and failure to warn, loss of consortium, and punitive damages.
The tragic story of Sandra Sultzer’s death sheds light on the potential risks associated with advanced medical technology and raises important questions about the responsibility of medical device manufacturers in ensuring the safety of their products. As the lawsuit unfolds, it will likely spark discussions about patient safety, regulations surrounding medical devices, and the ethical obligations of companies in the healthcare industry.
This case serves as a sobering reminder of the complexities and potential dangers of modern medical procedures, and it underscores the importance of thorough training, transparent disclosures, and stringent oversight in the development and use of cutting-edge medical technologies.