A New Mexico woman has filed a lawsuit against Hubble Contacts, claiming that she had to have her eye removed due to defective contact lenses sold by the company. Stephanie Guarisco of Clovis alleges that she experienced severe pain and injury after using the lenses for only a few weeks, ultimately leading to the loss of her right eye. Guarisco is suing Hubble’s parent company, Vision Path, for negligence, consumer fraud, and other counts.
According to the lawsuit, Guarisco purchased Hubble contact lenses through the company’s website in early 2020. She wore the daily lenses until late July of that same year. Weeks later, she experienced severe pain in her left eye and sought medical attention. An optometrist diagnosed her with iridocyclitis, an inflamed iris condition. Guarisco was later diagnosed with a corneal ulcer in her left eye. Her eye issues worsened, and she visited the emergency room for allergy-like symptoms in her right eye, including discharge, redness, itching, and visual disturbances. She was diagnosed with a corneal ulcer in her right eye and reported decreased vision.
Despite undergoing several surgeries to repair the ulcer, they were unsuccessful. Guarisco now has a permanent prosthetic placed in her right eye socket. She claims that Hubble contact lenses, made in Taiwan using Methafilcon A, a silicone-based polymer, caused her vision loss. Many optometrists argue that this material does not provide enough oxygen to the eye and is inappropriate for making contact lenses. Although Hubble’s contact lenses are approved by the FDA, methafilcon A is no longer prescribed for contact lenses in the United States.
The lawsuit also accuses Vision Path of not following proper procedures for verifying customer prescriptions and paying customers for positive reviews of the lenses on its website. Vision Path stated that it is taking the allegations seriously and has initiated an internal investigation.
Vision Path, founded in 2016, sells its Hubble branded contact lenses online through a mail-order subscription model. Guarisco’s lawsuit is not the first legal trouble for Hubble, as Vision Path previously paid a $3.5 million settlement to the Federal Trade Commission for violating contact lens rules. The company also paid a settlement in Texas for deceptive marketing practices.
The lawsuit highlights the importance of ensuring the safety and quality of contact lenses, as well as the need for companies to follow proper procedures and regulations.