Da Vinci Surgical Robot Facing Legal Scrutiny

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The da Vinci Surgical System highlights the innovation of modern-day medicine, but it also comes with its drawbacks.

The da Vinci robot is designed to perform a type of next generation laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic surgery is itself a step beyond traditional surgery as it allows surgeons to perform surgery without requiring a large incision and a long recovery time. This is accomplished through small incisions and surgical tools small enough to work inside the patient’s body. The entire process is guided by tiny cameras that voyage inside the patient alongside the surgical tools.

This da Vinci surgical robot takes the process a step in an even more advanced direction. Normal laparoscopic surgical tools might work deep inside a person’s body, but they are still controlled through a surgeon’s hands. In robotic surgery, a machine controls the tools, controlled through a joystick like a video game. In theory, this allows for a great degree of precision. However, it has been alleged that the device suffers from drawbacks not found in “classic” laparoscopic surgery.

Da Vinci robot surgery lawsuits have alleged that laparoscopic surgery by the da Vinci System has a higher rate of complications than older-style surgery. Allegedly, the tools can more easily catch on a patient’s tissues, causing damage. Also, it has been alleged that the surgical tools can spark and cause electrical discharges, burning a patient’s insides.

The da Vinci robot lawsuits have also alleged that the device’s high price tag — to the tune of $2 million and several hundred thousands in maintenance — may motivate hospitals to try and get as much as they can out of this enterprise. On top of this, da Vinci robot maker Intuitive Surgical Inc. has recalled several components which may be related to the complications allegedly linked to the device.

The robotic surgery lawsuits over the da Vinci Surgical System may take the form of a multidistrict litigation or MDL. MDLs are a type of group litigation, similar to class action lawsuits in some ways. In both class action lawsuits and MDLs, a group of plaintiffs allege that they have suffered similar harm at the hands of the same defendant. The main difference is that class action lawsuits start out as group lawsuits, while MDLs start out as individual lawsuits which are later coordinated into a single combined MDL. This gives individual da Vinci robot lawsuits within the MDL a higher degree of autonomy within the MDL than plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit, including separate legal counsel for every plaintiff in an MDL. Additionally, MDLs are more common in drug and medical device (including medical robots) lawsuits, since the plaintiffs’ injuries tend to vary.

Join a Free da Vinci Robot Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you or a loved one were injured by da Vinci robotic surgery complications, you may have a legal claim. See if you qualify to pursue compensation and join a free da Vinci robot class action lawsuit investigation by submitting your information for a free case evaluation:

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