Bausch & Lomb sued by out of area plaintiffs in St. Clair County

Bausch & Lomb is being sued by seven persons claiming injury from using Renu with MoistureLoc contact solution. None of the claimants reside in St. Clair County where the complaint was filed May 13.

"While using the product, Plaintiff began experiencing ocular pain and presented for medical diagnosis, treatment and care," the complaint states. "Plaintiff was made to endure extreme pain and suffering, photophobia, corneal infection, ulceration and/or scarring, loss of vision, prolonged and ongoing medcal treatment, mental anxiety and distress, and diminution of in quality of life, resulting in the claims for injuries and damages brought herein."

Plaintiffs include Timothy Fabian of Schaumburg, Ill., Dwaylene Anthony of Wheaton, Ill., Jonathan Shuter for his minor son, Avishai Shuter of New Rochelle, N.Y., Cynthia Bertka of Streetsboro, Ohio, Valerie Rankin of Euclid, Ohio and Shawn Sexton of Torrance, Calif.

Represented by John Driscoll of Brown & Crouppen in St. Louis, the plaintiffs claim venue is proper because Bausch & Lomb placed the product into the stream of commerce in Illinois, "including particularly, St. Clair County, Illinois and derived substantial revenue from such business."

Driscoll's co-counsel includes Douglass A. Kreis and Neil D. Overholtz of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz in Pensacola, Fla.

"Venue is proper in this county because, at all relevant times hereto, Plaintiff purchased, consumed and was injured in Illinois," the complaint states.

Renu with MoistureLoc was removed from the market on April 13, 2006, following an alert issued by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding an increase in reporting of a rare fungal infection, fusarium.

The complaint alleges that the product was unreasonably dangerous and defective and that Bausch & Lomb failed to warn consumers of the dangers associated with the product.