EzriCare Eyedrops Infection Lawsuits – 50 Illnesses and One Death

UPDATE: The Lange Law Firm PLLC has filed the first personal injury lawsuits on behalf of those who suffered infection as a result of using EzriCare Eyedrops.  The lawsuits were filed in New Jersey and Florida. 

The Lange Law Firm has filed federal lawsuits in Florida and New Jersey.  The lawsuits allege that the Defendants sold EzriCare Artificial Tears eye drops that were contaminated and adulterated with a dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.  One client’s eye became infected after using EzriCare Artificial Tears.  Another client suffers eye infections and the bacterial infection caused a severe rash covering much of her body.

The lawsuits allege strict products liability, breach of warranty, negligence, and negligence per se. Basically, the defendants sold, manufactured, packaged, labelled, marketed, and/or advertised their product to our clients. Their product was adulterated because it was contaminated with pseudomonas aeruginosa. Because it was adulterated, it is unsafe for human use and is dangerous, leading to injury and possibly even death. Our clients purchased their product, used it, and now are injured from using it.

Below, you can view copies of the filings.

Florida Complaint

 

New Jersey Complaint

EzriCare Eyedrops Infection According to the CDC

The CDC reports this week that they are investigating a multi-state cluster of illnesses associated with multiple different infection types, including eye infections. As of January 20, 50 people across 11 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and Washington) had tested positive for the bacterium, called Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Recent epidemiology and laboratory evidence link these infections to use of EzriCare Artificial Tears.

Here is everything we know about this EzriCare Eyedrops Infection outbreak:

From May 17, 2022, to January 19, 2023, CDC, in partnership with state and local health departments, identified 56 isolates from 50 case patients from 11 states (CA, CO, CT, FL, NJ, NM, NY, NV, TX, UT, WA) with VIM-GES-CRPA; 38 cases are part of 4 facility clusters. Dates of specimen collection are from May to December 2022. Isolates have been identified from clinical cultures of cornea (10), sputum or bronchial wash (11), urine (6), other nonsterile sources (4), and blood (2), and from rectal swabs (23) collected for surveillance. These specimens were collected in both outpatient and inpatient healthcare settings. Patient outcomes include permanent vision loss resulting from ocular infection, hospitalization, and death of one patient with bloodstream infection.

Review of common exposures among patients identified that the majority of patients used artificial tears prior to identification of VIM-GES-CRPA infection or colonization. The most common brand reported was EzriCare Artificial Tears, a preservative-free product dispensed in multidose bottles. The “majority” of patients with positive samples told the CDC that they had used eye drops prior to testing, and the most commonly mentioned brand was EzriCare Artificial Tears. The CDC said that samples were taken from patients in hospitals and outpatient clinics between May 2022 and December 2022.

Laboratory testing of EzriCare Artificial Tears by CDC identified the presence of VIM-CRPA in opened EzriCare bottles; these VIM-CRPA are undergoing further characterization, including testing for GES and to determine ST, to assess if they match the outbreak strain. Testing of unopened bottles of EzriCare Artificial Tears is ongoing.

Recommendations

People should “immediately” stop using eye drops that may be linked to drug-resistant infections, the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention said.

The recommendation is a precaution after “permanent vision loss” resulting from an eye infection was reported and one person died from a bloodstream infection, the CDC said. The patients tested positive for a multi-drug resistant bacterium. 

What is Pseudomonas aeruginosa?