A da Vinci surgical robot allegedly burned and tore a patient's small intestine during colon cancer surgery in Florida in September 2021, leading to additional procedures and her death in February 2022, prompting a wrongful death lawsuit against Intuitive Surgical.
- Date of incident
- 2021-09-01
- Location
- Florida, USA
- Model
- da Vinci
- Sources
- 8
Established by a regulator or court document, linked below.
How the event developed
- 2024-02-06Lawsuit
Docket No. 9:24-cv-80137 filed in District Court, S.D. Florida: personal injury suit against Intuitive Surgical. Case closed 2024-07-12.
courtlistener.com
Every claim above traces to one of these
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- courtlistener.comSultzer v. Intuitive Surgical, Inc., District Court, S.D. Florida, No. 9:24-cv-801372024-02-06copy 2026-10-30tier 1
- nbcnews.comA da Vinci surgical robot allegedly burned and tore Sandra Sultzer's small intestine during colon cancer surgery in Florida in September 2021, leading to additional procedures and her death in February 2022, prompting a wrongful death lawsuit against Intuitive Surgical.2024-02-08copy 2026-10-13tier 1
- tmz.comSandra Sultzer, a 78-year-old Boca Raton woman, died in 2022 after a September 2021 da Vinci surgical robot procedure during which allegedly cracked rubber sleeve insulation allowed stray electrical current to burn a hole in her small intestine.2024-02-08copy 2026-10-16tier 2
- sun-sentinel.comA stray electrical arc from a da Vinci surgical robot allegedly burned Sandra Sultzer's small intestine during a colon cancer procedure at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital in September 2021, causing a perforation that led to her death.2024-02-08copy 2026-10-15tier 2
- people.comSandra Sultzer died in February 2022 after allegedly suffering a thermal burn injury to her small intestine during da Vinci robotic surgery for colon cancer in September 2021 at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida.2024-02-09copy 2026-10-17tier 2
- lawcommentary.comSeventy-eight-year-old Sandra Sultzer died in February 2022 after a da Vinci surgical robot allegedly burned a hole in her small intestine during colon cancer surgery at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital in September 2021, leading her husband to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Intuitive Surgical.2024-02-13copy 2026-10-23tier 2
- mdlinx.comLawsuit alleges da Vinci robotic surgical device caused fatal intestinal burns during procedure2024-02-13copy 2026-10-23tier 3
- aboutlawsuits.comSandra Sultzer died in February 2022 after suffering fatal thermal burn injuries to her small intestine during da Vinci robotic surgery for colon cancer performed in September 2021, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her husband Harvey Sultzer.2024-02-16copy 2026-10-16tier 2
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