A federal lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleges that Ozempic caused sudden and permanent vision loss due to non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), according to a complaint brought by plaintiff Caryn Schollmeyer. The legal action contends that manufacturer Novo Nordisk failed to warn patients and physicians about potential vision risks associated with the Type 2 diabetes medication.
Ozempic Vision Loss Allegations and Legal Claims
According to the complaint filed by Caryn Schollmeyer, she was prescribed Ozempic in September 2019 for Type 2 diabetes and used the medication until January 2021, when she experienced sudden vision loss. The lawsuit maintains that Schollmeyer will never regain clear sight and that her impairment is irreversible due to her Ozempic intake.
The legal action demands both compensatory and punitive damages while putting forward counts for failure to warn, design defect, negligent failure to warn, negligence, negligent misrepresentation and marketing, breach of warranty, and violations of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices/Consumer Fraud Act. The complaint points out that despite the manufacturer allegedly having longstanding knowledge of potential vision risks, Ozempic prescribing information has been revised numerous times without mentioning NAION. According to the Drugs@FDA website cited in the filing, the Ozempic label has been updated at least 13 times since 2017—with the most recent update occurring on January 28, 2025—across at least 14 iterations without containing warnings regarding an increased propensity to cause NAION and permanent vision loss.
Centralization in Federal Multidistrict Litigation
Schollmeyer’s complaint will be consolidated with other Ozempic NAION lawsuits in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where federal court cases have been centralized before U.S. District Judge Karen Marston for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL). Judge Marston is also overseeing a similar MDL involving GLP-1 stomach paralysis lawsuits.
Before potential bellwether trials can begin to test how juries respond to evidence and testimony, both sides must complete a discovery process involving the exchange of clinical trial data, patient use histories, medical reports, and expert witness depositions. Nevertheless, Judge Marston is anticipated to first set up bellwether proceedings for a multitude of GLP-1 stomach paralysis cases centered on severe gastrointestinal complications like intestinal blockages and gastroparesis. Even though numerous drug makers are named as defendants across both dockets, the vision impairment and gastrointestinal litigation function as distinct MDLs featuring separate legal questions, scientific data, and bodily harms.