Award of Summary Judgment to Intuitive Upheld in Endoscopic Surgical Scissors Case

ATLANTA — A federal appeals panel has upheld an award of summary judgment to Intuitive Surgical Inc. on claims that its endoscopic surgical scissors caused burns during a hysterectomy, ruling that the surgeon’s testimony did not support the plaintiff’s design defect theory.

In an April 2 opinion, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel agreed with the lower court that the lack of expert testimony as to causation doomed the plaintiffs’ design defect claim.

Elmitha Pierre suffered a burn to her bowel during a Jan. 24, 2014, robotically assisted hysterectomy performed by Dr. Yat- Min Chen using the …