A surgical instrument having a handle, elongate shaft 316, end effector and a trigger mechanism has a pair of chambers 608, 610 with a force absorbing member such as a spring 312 between them. This acts to limit the force applied by the jaws of the end effector, such that the trigger mechanism may be latched into a locked position without undue force being applied to tissue between the jaw members. The spring 312 should be larger than the minimum cavity between first and second chambers 608, 610 such that it is never compressed to its solid state (which would prevent it from absorbing force applied by the trigger).
