Justice Sotomayor 'resting well' after undergoing surgery for shoulder injury

Sotomayor needed surgery after falling and injuring her left shoulder.

May 1, 2018, 5:31 PM

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is recovering after undergoing surgery Tuesday for a shoulder injury she suffered in a fall in mid-April, the Supreme Court announced in a statement.

"Justice Sotomayor’s surgery this morning went well and the Justice is resting comfortably," Kathy Arberg, the court’s public information officer said in a statement. "She expects to remain in the hospital a night or two."

Sotomayor, 63, suffered a fall on April 16 that caused a fracture to her left shoulder. After further consultation, tests revealed that the injury would require "reverse total shoulder replacement surgery," the court spokeswoman said.

PHOTO: Supreme Court Justices in the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., June 1, 2017.
Chief Justice John Roberts (seated C) leads Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (front row, L-R), Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Elena Kagan (back row, L-R), Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch in taking a new family photo including Gorsuch, their most recent addition, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., June 1, 2017.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Following her surgery, Sotomayor will "curtail activities for the next few weeks while she recuperates," the spokeswoman said.

Despite the broken shoulder, Sotomayor did not miss a beat at work in the two weeks since the fall. She was present on the bench, hearing all arguments that came before the Court throughout the remainder of April – including oral arguments for three major cases: the Trump administration's travel-ban case, Trump v. Hawaii, the case of Abbott v. Perez which deals with if Texas violated the Fourteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act over congressional redistricting plans, and South Dakota v. Wayfair, which takes up the issue of retailers collecting state sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence.

Sotomayor is expected to wear a sling for several weeks while she also attends physical therapy for several months.

"She is expected to recover full mobility and shoulder function," the court’s spokeswoman said.

ABC News' Audrey Taylor contributed to this report.

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