PORT ORCHARD — A Kitsap County jury decided the maker of a surgical robot was not to blame for a botched prostate operation on a Bremerton man.
The jury said Thursday that Intuitive Surgical Inc. had given surgeon Scott Bildsten adequate training.
He was conducting his first solo operation with the device in 2008 at Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton when he encountered problems. The surgery lasted 14 hours and patient Fred Taylor suffered a rectal tear. He had additional health problems and died in 2012 at the age of 67.
The Kitsap Sun reported his family sued the doctor and hospital and settled for undisclosed amounts.
The Intuitive lawsuit raised questions about marketing and training for the $2 million da Vinci robots. About 2,000 of them are in operating rooms.
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Information from: Kitsap Sun, http://www.kitsapsun.com/
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