Woman says flea market contacts made her legally blind in 3 days

LUBBOCK, TEXAS – A Lubbock woman has filed a lawsuit claiming that she is legally blind after wearing cosmetic contacts she purchased from a flea market, according to KLBK.

According to the lawsuit, Liza Garcia went to the National Flea Market of Lubbock on Feb. 9 to purchase cosmetic contact lenses from the One Stop Contact Lenses booth. She said she had purchased contact lenses there before, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says after three days of wearing the contacts, Garcia's eyes began to burn and became swollen. She went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a bacterial infection in her eyes, caused by the Bella contact lens.

Garcia said she returned to the hospital daily for checkups but the infection permanently damaged both of her eyes, leaving them with ulcers and scar tissue. The lawsuit says she is now legally blind.

Garcia is seeking over $1 million from several defendants, including the man who sold her the contact lenses and Orion Vision Group. The company said it has not yet been notified of any lawsuit.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, users need a prescription to wear decorative lenses. The agency said an eye doctor must measure each eye to properly fit the lenses and evaluate how the eye responds to contact lens wear.