Summary Judgment Motions Denied in Mass. Covidien Surgical Stapler Case

BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge has denied Covidien and Medtronic’s motion for summary judgment in a surgical stapler injury case, ruling there are questions of fact as to whether the device and its components were unreasonably dangerous because they were not designed to fire only into appropriately thick tissue.

In a May 28 order, Judge Richard G. Stearns of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts further found issues of fact as to whether defendants knew of the risks of the products’ design, and failed to adopt a safer alternative design.

During a May 9, 2019, procedure …