Ozempic and Vision Loss Lawsuits

What NAION is

NAION stands for non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. The optic nerve carries what your eye sees to your brain. NAION happens when blood flow to the front of that nerve drops and part of the nerve is damaged. Some doctors describe it as a stroke of the optic nerve.

It tends to follow a pattern.

• It usually affects one eye.
• It is usually painless.
• Many people first notice it when they wake up.
• The missing part of the view is often the top half or the bottom half.

Some people regain a little sight over the next few months. For many, the damage that remains is permanent. In some people, the other eye is affected later.

How eye doctors confirm it

An ophthalmologist, an eye doctor with medical training, usually makes the diagnosis. Some people are sent on to a neuro-ophthalmologist, a specialist in the optic nerve. These are the tests that come up most often.

• A dilated eye exam. In the first weeks, the doctor can often see swelling of the optic nerve at the back of the eye.
• A visual field test. You look straight ahead and press a button each time a small light appears. The result maps which parts of your vision are missing.
• An OCT scan. A quick, painless scan that measures the layers of the optic nerve and the retina. Repeat scans can show nerve damage over time.
• Blood tests for inflammation. These check for giant cell arteritis, a different condition that causes similar vision loss and needs urgent treatment.

These records matter in a lawsuit too. The diagnosis note shows what the eye doctor found. Visual field tests and scans from months later show whether the loss lasted. A lawyer reviewing a vision claim will usually ask for both.

Which drugs the cases name

The court’s page for the federal vision cases names four drugs, made by two companies.

• Novo Nordisk makes Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda.
• Eli Lilly makes Trulicity.

Most of the early research looked at semaglutide, the medicine in Ozempic and Wegovy. Rybelsus, a daily pill, holds the same medicine. People have also reported vision loss after Mounjaro and Zepbound, which Eli Lilly makes, and some law firms review those cases too.

The brand name on your prescription matters. The federal cases are against the companies over the drugs they make. If you took a compounded version, the main Ozempic page explains how compounded drugs differ.

What the research and regulators say

Concern started with a 2024 study from Mass Eye and Ear in Boston. Researchers reviewed their own patients and found NAION more often in people taking semaglutide than in similar patients on other drugs. Among patients with diabetes, it showed up about 4 times as often. Among patients taking it for weight loss, it showed up more than 7 times as often. Studies since then have disagreed with each other. Some found a link and some did not.

European regulators reached a conclusion in June 2025. The European Medicines Agency found that NAION is a very rare side effect of semaglutide, affecting up to 1 in 10,000 people. It recommended adding NAION to the drug’s European product information. It also advised that anyone with sudden vision loss contact their doctor right away, and that semaglutide be stopped if NAION is confirmed.

The U.S. picture is different. The Ozempic label revised in May 2026 tells patients to report vision changes to their doctor. It does not name NAION. The lawsuits claim the companies failed to warn about this risk. Many also claim the drugs had a design defect, that the companies broke promises about their products, and that the marketing hid the danger. The companies deny that their drugs cause NAION.

For a closer look at the studies, see what the research shows on vision loss.

Where the vision cases stand

The federal vision cases are grouped together in Philadelphia as MDL 3163. The group was created in December 2025. Judge Karen Spencer Marston handles it. She also handles the stomach cases, but the two groups move on separate schedules.

The judge chose to start with two questions. The first is whether these drugs can cause NAION at all. The second is whether federal drug law and the FDA-approved label block these claims. Written arguments on both are scheduled to finish on August 31, 2027. She will rule after that.

Nobody has been paid. There is no settlement and no trial date. The current case count and every new court date are on the Ozempic lawsuit updates page.

What to keep

A few records do most of the work in a vision loss case.

• The eye doctor’s notes from the visit when NAION was diagnosed.
• Every visual field test and OCT scan, including the later ones.
• Any emergency room or urgent care paperwork from the day your vision changed.
• Pharmacy printouts showing the drug name and every date you filled it.
• The name of each doctor who prescribed the drug.
• A note of when you started the drug, when you took your last dose, and the day your vision changed.

Each state sets its own filing deadline. You can read more about how filing deadlines work and what evidence helps a lawsuit. If you are asking on behalf of a parent, spouse or other relative, see filing a lawsuit for a family member.

If your vision changes now

Treat sudden vision loss as an emergency. Get seen the same day by an eye doctor or at an emergency room. Some other causes of sudden vision loss need treatment within hours.

Tell every doctor you see which drug you take. Whether to keep taking it is a decision for the doctor who prescribed it. Stopping a diabetes or weight medicine on your own can cause problems of its own.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is NAION?

NAION is sudden, painless vision loss in one eye. It happens when blood flow to the front of the optic nerve drops. The optic nerve is the cable that carries sight from the eye to the brain.

Does vision come back after NAION?

Some people regain part of their sight in the first few months. For many, the loss that remains after that is permanent.

Which drugs are named in the vision cases?

The court's page for the federal vision cases names Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda, made by Novo Nordisk, and Trulicity, made by Eli Lilly. People have also reported vision loss after Mounjaro, Zepbound and Rybelsus, and some firms review those cases too.

Is there a settlement for Ozempic vision loss?

No. No money has been paid and no trial date has been set. The judge is still working through the first questions in the vision cases.

Can I ask for a review for a family member?

Yes. A relative can ask for a free case review. If the person who lost vision cannot handle it, or has died, the law decides who can act for them, and that depends on the state. Our guide to filing a lawsuit for a family member explains how that works.

Sources

• Eastern District of Pennsylvania, official page for MDL 3163 — the court’s page for the vision loss cases. It names the drugs and the presiding judge.
• MDL 3163 Case Management Order No. 12, entered July 2, 2026 (PDF) — puts general causation and preemption first.
• Docket of In re: GLP-1 RAs NAION Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3163, No. 2:25-md-03163-KSM (E.D. Pa.), available through PACER. Case Management Order No. 14, entered August 27, 2026 (ECF No. 149), sets the briefing schedule ending August 31, 2027.
• Hathaway JT et al., “Risk of Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy in Patients Prescribed Semaglutide,” JAMA Ophthalmology (2024) — the Mass Eye and Ear study.
• “NAION risk with semaglutide: what we know so far,” Eye (2025) — a review of the later studies, including the ones that disagree.
• European Medicines Agency, PRAC conclusion on NAION and semaglutide (June 2025) — the 1 in 10,000 figure and the advice on sudden vision loss.
• FDA, Ozempic prescribing information, revised May 2026 (PDF) — the current U.S. label.

Figures and dates above should be confirmed against the original sources.