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 resulting in 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, Guarisco’s condition did not improve. She now has a permanent prosthetic in her right eye socket. Guarisco claims that Hubble contact lenses, which are made in Taiwan using Methafilcon A, a silicone-based polymer, caused her vision loss. Many optometrists argue that Methafilcon A does not provide enough oxygen to the eye and is an inappropriate material for making contact lenses.
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 has stated that it is taking the allegations seriously and is conducting an internal investigation.
Vision Path, the parent company of Hubble Contacts, previously paid $3.5 million in a settlement to the Federal Trade Commission for violating contact lens rules. The company also paid nearly $375,000 in a settlement in Texas for deceptive marketing practices.
Founded in 2016, Vision Path sells Hubble branded contact lenses online through a mail-order subscription model. The company claims that every set of lenses undergoes a thorough inspection process.
The lawsuit filed by Guarisco highlights the potential dangers of using defective contact lenses and raises concerns about the materials used in their production.