Company Bausch & Lomb Inc., United States soft-contact-product maker, is in the line of fire of a potential class-action lawsuit from probable correlation between their contact solution and serious eye infections.
Bausch & Lomb Inc. halted shipments of their newest contact solution ReNu with MoistureLoc on April 10 after the Food and Drug Administration and Center for Disease Control began investigations. According to www.renulawsuit.com, there were 109 cases of fungal keratitis infections from June 2005 to March 2006. Twenty-six out of the 28 cases who wore contacts used ReNu with MoistureLoc. On the website hosted by Parker & Waichman, LLP, a New York law firm specializing in lawsuits to do with defected medical products, offer free case evaluations and invite those with infections to speak up.
“It makes me feel wary, but I try to take care of my contacts by disinfecting them to prevent this fungus,” Erik Parrillo, a junior marketing major, said.
Fusarium keratitis is the infection or inflammation of the cornea from the entrance of fusarium, a fungus found in everyday environment. The infection could lead to blindness. According to Bausch & Lomb’s website symptoms of fusarium keratitis include redness, pain, tearing, increased light sensitivity, blurry vision, discharge and swelling. It also says to immediately consult a professional in case any symptoms occur.
The infection has been found in 17 states all around the U.S., furthermore, it has also been recognized in Singapore and Hong Kong. According to YahooNews, ReNu multi-purpose solutions sales have stopped in those areas.
“Your eyes are one of the most important parts of your body, if someone ends up going blind because of this solution then I hope they’d take action,” Lauren Edwards, a junior marketing major, said.
Bausch & Lomb’s site stated that when reports of infection surfaced, the company instantly inspected its plant for problems and found that “Nothing has yet been found to show that ReNu with MoistureLoc contributed to these infections in any way.”
There has not been word yet on whether or not the case will be a class action or numerous individual cases, according to YahooNews.
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Posted to the web by Shane Evans
