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A proposed class action lawsuit filed against LASIK MD for allegedly not declaring possible long-term side effects of corrective eye surgery has been rejected by the Superior Court of Québec.
The court said that the proposed class action, filed by lead Plaintiff Christopher Ouellet in 2019, was prescribed and not suitable for a class action given that it does not meet the commonality requirement needed in order to become a class action lawsuit, reports CTV News.
Ouellet filed the case in 2019, claiming that LASIK MD did not warn patients of the risk of permanent nerve damage associated with the popular laser eye surgery. Ouellet allegedly had LASIK eye surgery on Jan. 26, 2015, after which point he experienced severe pain and inflammation in both his eyes. He was later diagnosed with corneal neuralgia because of his surgery, the proposed LASIK class action alleges.
Ouellet says that he was not warned of this risk before the surgery.
Ouellet told CTV News in 2019 that the pain completely ruined his life. “It destroyed everything. It made me lose my job. It made me lose the things I like to do in life.”
Through the lawsuit, Ouellet was seeking damages for those who suffered chronic pain as a result of LASIK surgery done between 2009 and 2018.
However, the Superior Court of Québec said that the lawsuit was not filed within the three-year prescribed period and that it was not appropriate for a class action lawsuit, according to CTV News. The court said the three-year period should have started when Ouellet first experienced post-surgery pain, which he reported in 2015.
The court added there was no common question in the case, as it depended on whether Ouellet was properly informed of the risks of surgery or not, states CTV News.
To apply the class action more broadly, the court would have to look into the discussions of up to 66 ophthalmologists and their patients and review the applications of up to 22 different consent forms.
“Therefore, it is clear that the adequacy of the information will be different for every patient, regardless of the facts in the written materials or information,” the decision stated.
Around 1,197 people responded to a website created by Ouellet and his lawyer, but only around ten of those people suffering from corneal neuralgia were permanent residents of Quebec, reports CTV News. It was unknown whether those respondents were informed of the risks of the surgery beforehand.
“The issue of the number of potential class members whose claim is within applicable time limits is also an element that might affect whether there is a viable group. Save for exceptional situations, a group cannot be open-ended,” the court stated.
LASIK MD told CTV News that complications from LASIK were rare, and that “in the vast majority of cases, these post-surgical complications are treatable.”
“Our stringent approach and established processes ensure that each patient is fully educated on the potential risks, benefits and possible side effects prior to any procedure, including the very rare risk of chronic pain, a condition not exclusive to eye surgery,” LASIK MD Co-founder and National Medical Director Dr. Mark Cohen said.
“While the risks associated with LASIK are extremely low, it is nonetheless very unfortunate when a rare complication occurs.”
Have you experienced any side effects from corrective eye surgery? Let us know in the comments section!
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