Contacts:

Atty. Paul Martinek, Publisher
(800) 444-5297 X 8151

Aubrey Haznar
(800) 444-5297 X 8312
(781) 226-8616-Pager

Boston- (December 13, 2001) - As laser eye surgery becomes more popular for correcting vision problems, there's a sudden increase in the number of lawsuits filed over botched laser-eye surgeries. In the past two years there have been a pair of two-million dollar plus verdicts and one $800,000 settlement for claims the surgery made patients' eyesight worse. Lawyers Weekly USA, a national legal newspaper, reports lawsuits arising out of laser eye surgery procedures could trigger a wave of other medical malpractice claims and are poised to become the next big lawsuit trend for lawyers.

According to Lawyers Weekly USA, last month, a Kentucky jury awarded a record $1.7 million verdict to a plaintiff who had undergone the popular, but sometimes hazardous, "Lasik" procedure. The Kentucky verdict is third large laser-eye surgery award in the last two years. In early 2000, a plaintiff in Buffalo, N.Y., was awarded $1.2 million after his eye was sliced by a laser. In December 2000, a Philadelphia woman received $800,000 in a suit over Lasik surgery.

"Laser-eye surgery is great when it works but when it goes bad, it really goes bad," said attorney Paul J. Martinek, editor-in-chief of Lawyers Weekly USA. "A major issue in laser eye surgery litigation is whether the patient was informed sufficiently about the risk of the procedure. And lawyers are saying that, too often, unscrupulous doctors and health workers downplay the potential dangers and play up the ease of the procedure."

More than a million laser-eye surgeries are performed each year to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism and can cost as much as $2,000. A growing number of plaintiffs have filed suit claiming that some unscrupulous medical professionals are performing the surgery without proper screening, according to the legal newspaper. Although the precise number of lawsuits filed over Lasik surgery is unknown, experts tell Lawyers Weekly USA that as much as 5 percent of laser-eye patients have problems that could lead to litigation. The entire article appears in the latest edition of the national legal newspaper as well as through the paper's website, www.LawyersWeeklyUSA.com.