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Seven Contact Lens Solution
Users From Across America File Personal Injury
Lawsuit Against AMO For Dangerous And Extremely
Painful Eye Infections In AMO Recall Litigation |
| -- Plaintiffs'
Counsel Charges Recalled AMO Product Continues
to be Sold and Injure Consumers |
| August
24, 2007, Los Angeles, CA -- Signaling a further
expansion in the litigation against Santa Ana,
California-based Advanced Medical Optics, Inc.
("AMO"), the national law firm Lieff
Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, announced
that seven contact lens solution users filed
today a personal injury lawsuit against AMO
in state court in Los Angeles. |
| Each
plaintiff alleges he or she has suffered vision
loss due to Acanthamoeba
keratitis, an extremely painful infection
of the cornea, from use of AMO's Complete MoisturePlus
Multi Purpose contact lens solution. The plaintiffs
are residents of San Dimas, California, Fort
Worth, Texas, Orange Beach, Alabama, Weirton,
West Virginia, Chicago, Illinois, Gorham, Maine
and Douglas, Georgia. |
| "AMO
has not yet acknowledged its responsibilities
to injured consumers," stated Wendy
R. Fleishman, a partner at Lieff Cabraser. "AMO
must compensate all users of its contact lens
solution who developed serious eye infections,
including reimbursing patients for the cost
of their surgeries and other expenses, and
agree to pay for necessary future medical care." |
| In May,
2007, AMO Complete was recalled by the manufacturer.
However, plaintiffs charge AMO failed to adequately
notify consumers and retailers. Many consumers
continue to use the product and suffer injuries
as a result. "Through
the lawsuit, we are seeking to have the Court
force AMO to make its recall notice loud and
clear, so that the product is completely off
the market and no future injuries occur," stated
Fleishman. |
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| Lieff
Cabraser represents injured
people across America. Click
here to submit your case. |
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have years of experience successfully representing clients
in personal injury cases. |
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is no charge or obligation for our review of your case. |
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and serious injury cases, we are pleased to visit you where
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your questions. |
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retained product safety and medical experts nationwide to
assist our clients with their claims. |
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| "The
infestation in my left eye destroyed my cornea.
I had to administer drops in my eye for a year," explained
Plaintiff Debbie Wooten, a 44-year-old operations
manager at a financial services company from Forth
Worth, Texas. "At first I had to administer
the drops every hour around the clock. It took
twenty minutes to administer the drops because
I had to wait five minutes between each drop. The
pain was unbearable. The microorganisms were chewing
on my nerve endings." |
| Wooten was a regular purchaser
of AMO contact lens solution, using the product
as instructed. In late 2004, she began to suffer
symptoms of light sensitivity, tearing, and redness.
Wooten sought medical attention but her doctors
were unable to accurately diagnose her condition.
At the end of 2004, Wooten lost the vision in her
left eye. In January 2005, Wooten was diagnosed
with Acanthamoeba keratitis. |
| "Once the treatment ended,
I then had to wait nine months for the corneal
replacement surgery in case the infestation was
dormant," Wooten stated. "I am extremely
fortunate that I did not lose my eye but my vision
is still impaired. I may need additional surgery.
This was a terrible experience. I hope my lawsuit
causes AMO to ensure its contact lens solution
products are safe to use." |
| On May 25, 2007, the Food and
Drug Administration alerted health care professionals
and their patients who wear soft contact lenses
about a voluntary recall of AMO's Complete MoisturePlus
Multi Purpose. The recall was undertaken because
of reports of a link between a rare, but serious
eye infection, Acanthamoeba keratitis, caused by
a parasite and use of AMO's contact lens solution. |
| Plaintiffs charge that
AMO aggressively promoted Complete MoisturePlus
Multi Purpose to healthcare professionals as well
as to consumers with representations that it was
a "highly
effective cleaning agent" and
that it "is effective against the introduction
of common ocular microorganisms." |
| The Complaint charges that AMO's
contact lens solution was not effective in disinfecting
contacts lenses, and vastly inferior to other multipurpose
solutions available on the market. The Complaint
alleges that AMO's own data demonstrated the product's
lack of effectiveness in preventing the growth
of protozoa microorganisms, including "acanthamoeba." The
protozoa acanthamoeba are directly associated with
a disproportionate risk and increased incidence
of Acanthamoeba keratitis in users of contact lens
solution products. |
| The Complaint brings claims of
negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty,
fraud, unjust enrichment, and violations of California
statutory law. Wooten seeks compensatory and punitive
damages against AMO for the injuries she has suffered. |
| Reporters who wish to receive
a copy of the Complaint may contact Brandan De
Coteau of Lieff Cabraser at bdecoteau@lchb.com. |
Wendy R. Fleishman
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
780 Third Avenue, 48th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel. (212) 355-9500
Email: wfleishman@lchb.com |
| Founded in 1972, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP is an over fifty attorney
law firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. For the last five years,
the National Law Journal has recognized Lieff Cabraser
as one of the top 20 plaintiffs’ law firms in America. |
| For our personal injury cases, we bring a team of experienced
lawyers. Each client is assigned an individual lawyer. In addition, we have
on staff multiple nurses, legal assistants, scientific analysts and case
clerks to assist the attorneys. To learn more about our firm, click
here. |
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| Trademark
Notice: Personal Injury Lawyer America is an electronic newsletter
from Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. Lieff Cabraser
represents clients in a wide range of cases, including personal
injury and wrongful
death lawsuits. Our personal injury attorneys
| lawyers are committed to providing the very best representation
and support possible for our clients. This website provides information
on the legal rights of the injured and the latest news on product
defects and related lawsuits. |
Lieff Cabraser
is not affiliated in any way with any trademark owner. The use of
any trademarks on this site is for product identification and information
purposes only.
About Lieff Cabraser: We have
offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. Our lawyers have
represented clients in personal injury, wrongful death and
rollover crashes and product defect lawsuits across America, including
residents of Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland,
Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada,
New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin,
West Virginia and Wyoming.
Among the cases our personal injury
attorneys are prosecuting are the Medtronic heart lead recall, the
AMO contact lens solution recall, the Peter Pan peanut butter recall, Guidant
pacemaker defects, SUV
rollover accidents, popcorn
workers lung injuries, and Ford
switch fires.
Disclaimer: The hiring of legal
professionals is an important decision that should not be based on
advertising alone. Please read our disclaimer. |
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| Copyright © 2008 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP |
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