Marketing as Artful as a Da Vinci

Over the past decade, the stock value of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has grown more than twenty-fold, primarily on the strength of sales of its da Vinci robotic surgical system to hospitals and medical offices. The backbone of Intuitive’s marketing strategy for the da Vinci surgical robot includes a flood of stern warnings to doctors that failing to adopt higher technology practices will result in loss of patients from this point forward to doctors adopting this robotic technology. Some ten years after deployment of the da Vinci system, it appears that patients – not doctors – are the one’s suffering dire consequences at the hands of this new technology.

A December 2012 paper published by Citron Research notes almost a dozen “highly credible” lawsuits brought in 2012 based largely on suspect marketing claims made by Intuitive Surgical in connection with the da Vinci surgical robot. In addition to the deceptive marketing practices, patients have suffered serious injuries directly caused by the da Vinci surgical robot including burns from misguided electrical discharge and widespread extraneous tissue damage. The da Vinci surgical robot has most commonly found its way into procedures associated with prostate and hysterectomy surgeries.

If you or someone close to you has suffered adverse consequences as a result of a procedure using the da Vinci surgical robot system, you are urged to contact the law firm of Audet and Partners, LLP at (800) 965-1461, or you can request a free case evaluation by submitting the confidential inquiry form to the right of this page.