Eye Injury Victims Compensated by Lens Solution Maker

Tennessee Law Blog is happy to report that, in a follow-up to an earlier TN law blog on defective product eye injuries caused by ReNu with MoistureLoc, the contact lens solution maker Bausch and Lomb has settle over 600 personal injury lawsuits to the tune of $250 million.

As discussed in another previous Tennessee Law Blog, injuries from the tainted contact lens solution were caused by a potentially blinding fungus present in the solution. The potential for fungal infection (Fusarium keratitis) was high, leading to a recall of the product. The CDC had confirmed 180 cases in 35 states as of September 2006. In Tennessee, one Tennessean had to have an eye removed, as did six other people in the U.S. To date, over 700 contact lens wearers have stepped forward with claims to have been exposed to the blinding fungal infection., some of whom have required corneal transplants to preserve vision in one or both eyes.

The culprit, keratitis, is so rare that doctors were at first puzzled by the seeming outbreak, which began in Hong Kong and reached Tennessee and other states by 2006. Eventually, the correlation was made between the potentially blinding infection and the new, multipurpose lens cleaner on the market, MoistureLoc, though the exact mechanics of why this one product caused this particular eye injury remain unclear.

Keratitis sufferers often complain of eye irritation that progresses to sudden searing pain. 2.3 million of our country’s 30 million soft contact lens wearers used MoistureLoc.

In the years since, Bausch & Lomb has marketed its older product, ReNu MultiPlus.

In Kentucky, Georgia, or Tennessee, if you have been injured by a defective consumer or medical product, contact the Higgins Firm for a fair, firm assessment of your legal situation. Contact our Nashville-based product liability lawyers online or toll-free at 800.705.2121.