Intuitive Surgical Robot Action Timely Under Ala. Statute of Limitations, Federal Judge Rules

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A lawsuit filed against Intuitive Surgical Inc. in connection with its surgical robot is timely under Alabama’s two-year statute of limitations and may proceed, an Alabama federal judge has ruled.

On Nov. 24, Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala held that Tennessee’s one-year statute of limitations does not apply even though the alleged injuries took place in that state because the limitations language in the Tennessee Product Liability Act is procedural, rather than substantive. Substantive issues are governed by Tennessee law, while Alabama law governs procedural issues, the Northern District of Alabama judge explained.

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