Shook Wins Full Defense Verdict for Medical Device Maker

Shook’s Stryker team has won a significant defense verdict in Florida state court after a four-week trial related to the design of a surgical suction device that was recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The plaintiff filed suit against Stryker claiming that the suction device was defectively designed and the warnings were inadequate. Stryker defended the case, arguing that the device was not defective and the warnings were appropriate and that the decedent’s death was caused by a nurse’s misuse of the suction device during a lung surgery. At the time of the surgical procedure, the suction device was the subject of an FDA recall. The plaintiff sought more than $40 million in damages.

However, the jury found for Stryker on all counts, distinguishing the FDA issues from the plaintiff’s allegations of defective design and inadequate warnings. After the win, Litigation Daily nominated the Shook team for "Litigators of the Week."

Cavanaugh vs. Stryker Corp., No. 2013CA001800 (Fla. Cir. Ct., St. Lucie Cty., 2018).