Holding Bausch & Lomb Legally Liable for Fusarium Fungal Eye Infections Caused by Use of Its Defective ReNu® with MoistureLoc® Multi-Purpose Contact Lens Solution
Overwhelming evidence now proves that ReNu with MoistureLoc Multi-Purpose Solution is defective and has caused more than 100 confirmed cases of Fusarium Keratitis, a rare but serious fungal infection of the cornea that can lead to vision loss, the need for corneal transplants and, in some cases, even complete blindness. According to the CDC, some of these confirmed cases of Fusarium Keratitis involve citizens of Georgia and numerous other states who used the Bausch & Lomb ReNu with MoistureLoc product. After getting FDA approval in May 2004, Bausch & Lomb first introduced its ReNu with MoistureLoc product in September 2004. However, after an outbreak of Fusarium fungal eye infections beginning sometime in the middle part of 2005, the company recalled the product in mid-April 2006. A month later, on May 15, 2006, Bausch & Lomb announced that it would no longer sell its ReNu with MoistureLoc product and permanently withdraw it from all U.S. and global markets. At that time, Bausch & Lomb finally admitted that the “unique characteristics of the formulation of the ReNu with Moisture Loc product in certain unusual circumstances can increase the risk of Fusarium infection.”
There are over 30 million users of contact lenses in the United States, and by 2006, about 2.3 million of them reportedly used the ReNu with MoistureLoc product to clean, sterilize and/or store their lenses. Beginning in April 2006, with a case filed in federal court in Miami, dozens of meritorious product liability lawsuits have already been filed by consumers claiming that Bausch & Lomb failed to adequately test the product prior to starting sales in 2004. More importantly, these lawsuits claim that the ReNu with MoistureLoc product is defective and that Bausch & Lomb failed to timely warn U.S. consumers of the risks of Fusarium Keratitis despite significant evidence of a link between use of ReNu with MoistureLoc and a dramatic rise in the incidence of these fungal eye infections. Punitive damages are sought in many of these cases on grounds that Bausch & Lomb acted recklessly in concealing information from the FDA and consuming public, and acting much too slowly to protect consumers by delaying in its initial recall and subsequent withdrawal of the product.
