Contact lens manufacturer is sued over painful eye fungus that permanently scarred the cornea of a woman who used its contact lens solution.
A Miami attorney is seeking class-action status for a lawsuit blaming Bausch & Lomb for a painful eye fungus he says permanently scarred the cornea of a woman who used its contact lens solution, AP reports from Miami.
The lawsuit, following a similar suit filed in New York, alleges the company either failed to remove the fungus from the Renu with MoistureLoc eye solution or fostered its growth in the manufacturing process.
Bausch & Lomb stopped shipping the product last week after health officials linked it to 109 cases of the eye fungus. The disease is called Fusarium keratitis, a fungus that causes blurred vision and can lead to blindness. The corneal scarring may result in permanent blurry vision.
More than 50 of those cases were diagnosed in Florida, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All were contact lens wearers who developed problems after using the Bausch & Lomb product.
The company's manufacturing plant in Greenville, S.C., which is at the center of the fungus investigation, was cited by the Food and Drug Administration four years ago.
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