AMO Recall Update: Contact Lens Solution Users Across America Continue To Suffer Eye Infections Requiring Corneal Transplant Surgery -- Plaintiffs' Counsel Charges Recalled AMO Solution Continues To Be Sold And Risks Causing Blindness To Consumers

LOS ANGELES (Business Wire EON) November 15, 2007 -- Demonstrating the ongoing national tragedy of the defective contact lens solution manufactured by Santa Ana, California-based Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (“AMO”), Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, announced that ten contact lens solution users from across America today filed a personal injury lawsuit against AMO in state court in Los Angeles. In May 2007, AMO withdrew its Complete MoisturePlus Multi Purpose contact lens solution from the market.

“Almost six months have passed since AMO purportedly withdrew its defective contact lens solution from the market, yet it is still being used by consumers,” stated Wendy R. Fleishman, a partner at Lieff Cabraser. “AMO has failed to adequately notify consumers and retailers of the recall. We hope today’s lawsuit will lead AMO to make its recall notice loud and clear, so that the product is completely off the market and no future injuries occur.”

Each plaintiff alleges he or she suffered vision loss due to Acanthamoeba keratitis, an extremely painful infection of the cornea that can result in blindness, from using AMO's Complete MoisturePlus Multi Purpose contact lens solution. The plaintiffs are residents of Los Angeles and Mission Viejo, California; Cheshire, Connecticut; Asheville and Greensboro, North Carolina; Derry, New Hampshire; and Azle, Houston and Lubbock, Texas.

“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.”

One Plaintiff's Experience

Plaintiff Robert McDonald, 72, of Asheville, North Carolina used AMO's Complete MoisturePlus Multi Purpose contact lens solution. In July 2006, McDonald began to suffer symptoms of pain, light sensitivity, tearing, and vision impairment in his left eye. He sought medical attention, and in August 2006, he was diagnosed with Acanthamoeba keratitis.

At the instruction of his doctor, McDonald was required to put prescription drops in his eye. “For more than a year the pain was so extreme that all I could do was sit in a room with all the shades pulled with a towel over my head, only removing it to apply the hourly drops required to try to stop the infection,” McDonald stated. “I would spend the majority of my days in terrible never ending pain usually in a dark house with a towel over my head to block out the light my wife needed occasionally to get her work done. I only left the house to go to the doctors.”

In July 2007, with unbearable pain, McDonald’s doctor ordered an emergency corneal transplant. “I have suffered injuries of many kinds but the pain I have endured as a result of the acanthamoeba infection is beyond comprehension. I didn’t know that people could be in such pain,” McDonald said.

This ordeal took a terrible toll on McDonald’s health. “Staying in a dark room for 1 ½ years has taken my strength away. I have lost a lot of strength and it has affected my balance,” commented McDonald. “I have lost not only my good vision and my health, but almost a year and a half of my life, and it doesn’t show any sign of letting up.”

McDonald’s vision has not recovered, and he likely will require at least one additional surgery to regain some of his sight.

Background on the AMO Recall And AMO Lawsuits

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, due to 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.

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.”

Manufacturers of medical products have a duty to produce products that are safe for their intended use. AMO specifically had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the formulation and production of its contact lens solution.

In the AMO lawsuit, plaintiffs charge that AMO's contact lens solution was not effective in disinfecting contact 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. Plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages against AMO for the injuries they suffered.

Reporters who wish to receive a copy of the Complaint may contact Brandan De Coteau of Lieff Cabraser at bdecoteau@lchb.com.

Legal Resources For Injured Contact Lens Solution Users

Injured patients who wish to speak to Lieff Cabraser about their legal rights and remedies without any charge or obligation may contact attorney Kent L. Klaudt in San Francisco toll-free at 1-800-541-7358 or by email at kklaudt@lchb.com or Wendy Fleishman in New York City toll free at 888-321-1510 or by email at wfleishman@lchb.com.

To learn more about the AMO contact lens solution recall and litigation against the company, visit http://www.personalinjurylawyeramerica.com/ medical/amo-contact-lens-solution-recall.htm (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

About Lieff Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a fifty-plus attorney law firm that has represented plaintiffs nationwide since 1972. We have offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville.

Lieff Cabraser represents injured AMO contact lens solution plaintiffs across America in individual personal injury lawsuits. For the last five years, The National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in the nation. We are one of only two law firms in America to have received this honor for the past five years.