Eye Implant Designer May be Liable for Product Liability Claims, Mass. Federal Judge Rules

BOSTON — The designer of a hydrogel episcleral implant can be held liable for product liability because the plaintiff alleged it actively participated in the device’s manufacture and helped draft its warnings, a Massachusetts federal judge has ruled.

On Feb. 8, Judge Leo Sorokin of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts concluded that because the plaintiff alleged the designer agreed “to participate in a common plan or design to commit a tortious act,” the claims may proceed.

New York citizen Nancy Daley underwent surgery in 1986 to correct retinal detachment in her left eye. During the procedure, …