Class Action Lawsuit Against TLC Lasik Surgery Centers Filed

Greenville, S.C. (Gaea Times) — A class-action lawsuit was filed in South Carolina accusing a country-wide chain of Lasik Surgery Centers of operating on patients with certain pre-existing conditions which made them unsuitable for surgery.

The class action lawsuit was filed against 30 TLC Lasik Surgery Centers accusing them of performing Lasik Surgery on patients with “unique topography with their eye” which makes them unsuitable for Lasik Surgery.

According to Attorney Wally Fayssoux as told to NBC, if surgery is performed on patients with the above mentioned topography, they are likely to be subjected to all type of eye conditions including but not limited to ectasia,

Corneal ectasia (also called “kerectasia” or “keratectasia”) is an infrequent but serious complication of LASIK surgery.

Corneal ectasia is a condition resembling keratoconus* but comes from a different origin. Almost invariably the cause is refractive eye surgery, specifically LASIK.

If the laser removes too much tissue during LASIK or the flap made too deep, the structure of the cornea can be weakened. This weakening can cause the cornea to bulge forward in an irregular fashion, causing increasing astigmatism and distorted vision that cannot be corrected with eyeglasses, soft contact lenses, or a LASIK enhancement procedure.

Most of the time a special gas permeable contact or scleral lens will be needed to restore lost vision.

In its most extreme form, treatment of ectasia may require a corneal transplant.

Note: Keratoconus is a non-inflammatory ectasia or protrusion of the cornea. It is characterized by progressive thinning and steepening of the central cornea. As the cornea steepens and thins, the patient experiences a decrease in vision which can be mild or severe depending on the amount of corneal tissue affected.

According to lawsuit Lead plaintiff John Hollman, of Hilton Head, developed corneal ectasia following his 1999 Lasik procedure. Hollman’s attorneys estimate his lifetime medical expenses and other damages total at least $1 million.

One of the shocking allegation of the class action lawsuit is that negligence was not the issue. According to the lawsuit, TLC kept a database of patients with conditions that could lead to injury following Lasik Surgery. The database contained the statutes of limitations for legal claims that could arise from the procedures and the company “intentionally” scheduled follow-up appointments until after the window to file a suit was passed.

The lawyers found the database by accident during discovery for a state-court claim against the surgery who performed the Lasik Surgery and found the database contained records for 180 additional patients in similar situations.

TLC file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2009. The class action lawsuit could seek up to 180 million in damages.