EzriCare Eye Drops Lawsuit
An outbreak of a potentially deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been linked to EzriCare Artificial Tears, an over-the-counter eye-drop formulation sold through major retailers, including Amazon and Walmart. The bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa may cause blindness, respiratory infections, sepsis, and death. Affected patients may be eligible to pursue significant compensation through an EzriCare Eye Drops lawsuit.
Hello. My name is David Kuttles. I’m a lawyer at The Lanier Law Firm. I work with the pharmaceutical and medical device product liability teams at The Lanier Law Firm, and today I want to talk with you about a recent recall concerning specific non-preservative artificial tears eyedrop products.
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On February 1st, 2023, Global Pharma Healthcare recalled EzriCare Artificial Tears and DELSAM Pharma’s Artificial Tears. These products could have been purchased at companies such as Walmart or Amazon. The recall stems from a CDC investigation of a multi-cluster of antibiotic-resistant infections referred to as carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa or CRPAA.
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CRPA can cause infections in the blood, in the lungs, and in the eye, including conjunctivitis, keratitis, vision loss, pain, and even death. As it relates to the CDC’S investigation, CRPAA has been found in over 50 patients in 12 states following a review of specimens collected between May of 2022 and December of 2022. Patient outcomes in the cluster have included permanent vision loss resulting from ocular infection, hospitalization, and death. Most of the patients in the cluster have reported using artificial tears.
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EzriCare Artificial Tears eyedrops were the most common brand of artificial tears reported in the cluster. Testing performed by the CDC of open bottles of EzriCare Artificial Tears also identified the presence of CRPA. The CDC’S investigation of the infection outbreak, which includes testing of unopened bottles of EzriCare Artificial Tears is still ongoing. The FDA and the CDC have recommended that patients and doctors stop using these specific products, and if you have used any of these products and you are experiencing complications, you should contact a physician right away.
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If you have used EzrICare Artificial Tears or DELSAM Pharma’s Artificial Tears and you have experienced complications, you may have a claim. We invite you to contact the Lanier Law Firm for a free consult today. You are welcome to click on the button after this video, or you can contact us at 1-866-483-0319. Feel free to visit our website also at www.lanierlawfirm.com for more information about our law firm. Thank you for listening.
As of January 31, 2023, at least 55 patients in 12 states have been infected by antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
This treatment-resistant infection may spread uncontrollably throughout the body, causing debilitating and life-threatening infections in the eyes and distant areas of the body. The majority of the infected patients reported using EzriCare Artificial Tears in a multidose bottle.
Due to possible contamination, on February 1, 2023, Global Pharma Healthcare voluntarily recalled all lots of Artificial Tears Lubricant Eye Drops distributed by Aru Pharma Inc. and Delsam Pharma.
On February 3, 2023, the FDA issued a warning that stated, “FDA also placed Global Pharma Healthcare Private Limited on import alert for providing an inadequate response to a records request and for not complying with [current good manufacturing practice] CGMP requirements.”
The FDA has also recommended the recall of Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Eye Ointment after warning that it not be purchased or used also due to potential bacterial contamination on February 22, 2023.
On February 22, 2023, Lanier Law Firm filed a complaint in California State court against EzriCare, Global Pharma Healthcare, Amazon, and others on behalf of a man who went blind in one eye after using the EzriCare eye drops. The complaint alleges strict products liability, negligence, and fraud, among other legal theories.
If you have contracted an infection after using EzriCare Eye Drops or Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Tears or Artificial Eye Ointment, The Lanier Law Firm may be able to help you recover substantial compensation.
Why should I choose The Lanier Law Firm to handle my EzriCare eye drop infection lawsuit?
The experienced pharmaceutical liability lawyers at The Lanier Law Firm have been helping people recover significant compensation from large companies for more than 33 years.
We are redefining legal care by providing compassionate, personalized service and using unconventional approaches when necessary to ensure that our clients receive the maximum compensation available under the law.
Our approach has earned us a national reputation for achieving historic verdicts and settlements against drug companies on behalf of our injured clients:
- $9 billion verdict against Takeda & Eli Lilly for cancer risk from Actos
- $4.85 billion national settlement for heart damage caused by Vioxx
- $1.05 billion verdict against DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and Johnson & Johnson for defective hip implants
- $57 million national settlement for harm caused by Yaz birth control
- $56 million verdict against Biomet for defective hip implants
Our product liability attorneys refuse to give up until our clients are fairly and justly compensated
Where is the eye drop outbreak?
The bacterial infections linked to EzriCare eye drops have occurred in a growing number of states. As of January 31, 2023, those states include:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Nevada
- Texas
- Utah
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Thirty-five cases are linked to four health care facility clusters. The CDC identified the bacteria in open bottles from multiple lots of EzriCare Artificial Tears.
These lots may have been sold through online vendors, including Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart, where members of the public in all 50 states could have purchased the product. Therefore, the number of outbreaks and affected states are expected to grow.
Hi, my name’s Rebecca Phillips. I’m an attorney at The Lanier Law Firm, and I’ve been seeing a lot of questions come up about those dangerous eyedrops they’ve been talking about on the news, so I wanted to take a minute and answer some of those questions.
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The first question I’ve been seeing come up most often is, which eyedrops are even subject to this recall? And the answer is, they’re called Artificial Tears. They come in two different boxes, and one looks like this. It was distributed by a company called EzriCare. And so if you’ve got a box that looks like this in your home, then you’ve got some eyedrops that are subject to the recall. The other box of Artificial Tears was distributed by a company called Delsam Pharma, and it looks like this. So if you’ve got a box of eyedrops that looks like this in your home, then you’ve got a box of eyedrops that are subject to the recall.
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Now the second question that I’m hearing a lot of is, well, why were these eyedrops recalled? Well, the answer to that is it looks like they were contaminated with bacteria or else they were put in a container in such a way that it made them unusually susceptible to bacterial contamination. So the CDC spotted a rare outbreak of an infection in 12 different states. 55 people were infected, five people lost their vision, and one person even died. Now the majority of those people used EzriCare Artificial Tears, so the CDC did some testing and it found a dangerous and rare bacteria inside the EzriCare Artificial Tear bottles.
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Now the bacteria is called Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, and the Center for Disease Control has said that this particular strain of bacteria has not been seen in the United States prior to this outbreak. And unfortunately, this unique strain of bacteria is resistant to common antibiotics, so that means it’s more difficult for doctors to treat, and getting infected with this particular bacteria is really serious business.
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So what should you do if you use these products? Well the CDC and the FDA have recommended that you discontinue using these products. And if you are having symptoms, you should see your doctor. Symptoms can be things like eye pain, redness, and discharge, sensitivity to light or blurry vision, but they can also be things like infections in other parts of your body, like your lungs or your blood. So get to the doctor if you’re having these symptoms. Get to the doctor and get tested.
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Now you might be wondering if I’m infected, do I have a legal claim? And you may. Our law firm is happy to help you evaluate whether or not you do, and we’ll do that for free. So if you think you might have a claim, give us a call. Our number’s 1-866-483-0319, or you can find us on our website at www.lanierlawfirm.com. That’s Lanier, L-A-N-I-E-R, lawfirm.com. Thanks for listening, and be well.