Proceedings in first ReNu lawsuits set for next week

Thursday, 14 December 2006

Pretrial proceedings in the first set of ReNu lawsuits against Bausch & Lomb will begin next week in South Carolina. ReNu attorneys and their clients from 80 cases will meet to exchange information with lawyers from Bausch & Lomb. After the judge in the case oversees the exchange of all the requested information and documents, the cases will return to their own jurisdictions for trial. Most of the ReNu lawsuits are expected to go to trial within a year to 18 months. Plaintiffs have filed ReNu lawsuits against Bausch & Lomb, alleging that the company’s ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution caused them to experience symptoms of the fungal eye infection Fusarium keratitis. Hundreds of patients in the U.S., Asia and Europe were diagnosed with Fusarium keratitis symptoms during the outbreak. Patients who contracted an eye infection after using ReNu with MoistureLoc have suffered injuries that include cornea scarring and vision loss. In some cases, the damage from these Fusarium keratitis symptoms was so bad that the patients required a cornea transplant. An estimated one-third of Fusarium keratitis patients in the U.S. will eventually require cornea surgery. Although Bausch & Lomb issued a worldwide ReNu recall in May, critics at the Food and Drug Administration and elsewhere have accused the company of not taking ReNu with MoistureLoc off the market quickly enough. Many of the patients who have filed ReNu lawsuits contend that if Bausch & Lomb had acted faster to issue the ReNu recall, it might have prevented or lessened the damage done to their eyes by Fusarium keratitis symptoms. According to Bausch & Lomb, 123 ReNu lawsuits have been filed so far. ReNu attorneys say that at least 1,000 potential lawsuits may be filed in the future. One securities analyst has estimated that Bausch & Lomb may be facing up to $1 billion in damages from all of its ReNu lawsuits.