A popular laser eye surgery company is the target of a proposed class action lawsuit seeking authorization by law firms in Montreal and B.C.
The proposed lawsuit is being filed on behalf of Laval resident Christopher Ouellet who alleges he received laser eye surgery at Lasik MD in 2015 and developed pain in his eyes resulting from corneal neuralgia - severe pain caused by damaged nerves in the cornea.
"Constant burning pain, burning sensation in the eye, feeling of knife in the eye, needle in the eye," said Ouellet in an interview with CJAD 800.
Ouellet said he's been living with this condition ever since, having to manage his pain with medication and not being able to look at a computer screen, play video games or even watch a movie or tv for a long time without suffering from the pain.
"The number one thing that bothers me the most is not the physical pain or anything - it's the emotional pain of not being able to look at the screens anymore," said Ouellet.
The lawsuit alleges Ouellet was never told about this risk but was instead advised it was dry eye syndrome.
"The problem was that he had the symptoms of dry eye but what he had was something far more serious. And the other issue, the technical issue is that we do not believe that they were, either they were not properly equipped to diagnose what he had, or they should have been equipped or they were misleading him," said Ouellet's lawyer Joey Zukran in an interview with CJAD 800.
"Lasik MD and the surgeons performing the surgery at Lasik MD had an obligation to inform and disclose of this risk which they failed to do up until very recently when they started adding this health risk in their material," said Zukran.
It's not known how many people could be included in the lawsuit which still has to be authorized by a judge. If given the greenlight, the lawsuit seeks more than $400,000 in damages per person:
Zukran said if you think you are affected by this class action, you should sign up at www. lpclex.com.
Lasik MD said in a statement it ensures that it informs all its patients about potential risks linked to their treatments and closely monitors patients’ eye health post and pre-op, giving them all the support they need.
The company adds that complications linked to laser eye surgery are extremely rare and most of them are treatable.