Current:Home > ContactTradeEdge-Contact lens maker faces lawsuit after woman said the product resulted in her losing an eye -Prime Capital Blueprint
TradeEdge-Contact lens maker faces lawsuit after woman said the product resulted in her losing an eye
Indexbit View
Date:2025-04-06 22:13:21
A New Mexico woman alleges in a lawsuit that she had to have TradeEdgean eye removed because contact lenses sold by Hubble Contacts were defective.
Stephanie Guarisco of Clovis claims she experienced severe pain and injury after using the lenses for only a few weeks, eventually leading to the loss of her right eye. She is suing Hubble's parent company, Vision Path, for negligence, consumer fraud and other counts.
"Hubble contact lenses were unsafe, defective, and inherently dangerous in that the contact lenses were subject to a high rate of eye infections and corneal damage during normal and customary use," the complaint alleges.
Guarisco bought Hubble contact lenses through the direct-to-consumer business' website in early 2020, according to the suit, which was filed June 30 in New York State Supreme Court. She wore the daily lenses until late July of that same year. Weeks later, severe pain in her left eye required her to visit a hospital emergency room, and an optometrist subsequently diagnosed Guarisco with an inflamed iris condition called iridocyclitis, the suit claims.
She was later diagnosed with a corneal ulcer of the left eye, according to court documents. But Guarisco's eye issues worsened, and she was forced to visit the ER for allergy-like symptoms in her right eye, including "discharge, redness, itching and visual disturbances," the lawsuit states. After being diagnosed with corneal ulcer of the right eye, she reported decreased vision in her right eye.
Guarisco underwent several surgeries trying to repair the ulcer but those procedures were unsuccessful, according to the suit, which states "she now has a permanent prosthetic placed in her right eye socket."
Concerns with methafilcon A
Guarisco claims she lost her vision because Hubble contact lenses are made in Taiwan using Methafilcon A, a silicone-based polymer. Many optometrists say the material is inappropriate for making contact lenses because it doesn't provide enough oxygen to the eye.
While Hubble's contact lenses are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, methafilcon A is an inferior material "no longer prescribed for contact lenses in the United States," according to the lawsuit.
The complaint also accuses Vision Path of not following the proper procedures for verifying customer prescriptions and paying customers for positive reviews of the lenses on its website.
Vision Path said in a statement that it is taking the lawsuit's allegations seriously.
"We were saddened to hear about this occurrence and were unaware of the customer's claims until we received the lawsuit," the company said. "We began our investigation immediately following. Given the early stages of the case, we are unable to further comment on the specifics of the allegations or the results of our internal investigation."
Founded in 2016, Vision Path sells its Hubble branded contact lenses online through a mail-order subscription model. "Every set of lenses passes a multi-layer inspection that's super tight and refreshingly thorough," the company says on its website.
Prior FTC settlement
Guarisco's lawsuit isn't Hubble's first round of legal troubles.
Vision Path paid $3.5 million in a settlement to the Federal Trade Commission in January 2022 for, among other things, failing to get proper optometrist prescriptions for customers' contact lenses. The FTC's Contact Lens Rule requires contact lens sellers either to obtain a copy of the consumer's prescription or verify the patient's prescription information with their vision care provider. The settlement was the largest ever paid by a company for violating U.S. contact lens rules, federal regulators said at the time.
Vision Path also paid nearly $375,000 in a settlement in Texas last June for what the state's attorney general office called deceptive marketing.
Khristopher J. BrooksKhristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.
TwitterveryGood! (83)
Related
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- The oddball platypus is in trouble. Researchers have a plan to help.
- Jennifer Stone Details Messy High School Nonsense Between Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus Over Nick Jonas
- National Chicken Wing Day deals: Get free wings at Wingstop, Buffalo Wild Wings, more
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Struggling with acne? These skincare tips are dermatologist-approved.
- 2 children dead and 11 people injured in stabbing rampage at a dance class in England, police say
- Why US Olympians Ilona Maher, Chase Jackson want to expand definition of beautiful
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Simone Biles to compete on all four events at Olympic team finals despite calf injury
Ranking
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Jennifer Lopez’s 16-Year-Old Twins Max and Emme Are All Grown Up in Rare Photos
- New England Patriots DT Christian Barmore diagnosed with blood clots
- Justin Bieber Cradles Pregnant Hailey Bieber’s Baby Bump in New Video
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- For 'Deadpool & Wolverine' supervillain Emma Corrin, being bad is all in the fingers
- Martin Phillipps, guitarist and lead singer of The Chills, dies at 61
- Alabama city and multibillion dollar company to refund speeding tickets
Recommendation
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
Selena Gomez Claps Back at Plastic Surgery Speculation
Storms bring flash flooding to Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee
All the best Comic-Con highlights, from Robert Downey Jr.'s Marvel return to 'The Boys'
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Who is Doctor Doom? Robert Downey Jr.'s shocking Marvel casting explained
USWNT's future is now as Big Three produce big results at Paris Olympics
Torri Huske, Gretchen Walsh swim to Olympic gold, silver in women's 100 butterfly