Sudden Ozempic Blindness Reports Raise Concerns Over NAION Side Effects

Two separate federal multidistrict litigations could be established to handle GLP-1 drug injuries, with one focused on gastrointestinal complications and the other on Ozempic vision loss side effects.

Growing reports of Wegovy and Ozempic users waking up with sudden, irreversible vision loss has raised serious questions about warnings provided about side effects of the blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drugs in recent months, with lawsuits begining to mount over the drug makers’ failure to disclose the risk of a condition known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus are all versions of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide drugs that belong to a rapidly expanding class of medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which also includes Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide). These drugs mimic a natural gut hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite, allowing many adults to lose substantial weight while managing Type 2 diabetes.

Prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs have skyrocketed nationwide, fueled by celebrity endorsements and social-media promotion that highlights the weight loss benefits. Analysts estimate that by 2030, nearly one in 10 Americans will be taking a GLP-1 medication, which is already generating record profits for manufacturers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

However, over the past two years, a wave of Ozempic lawsuits, Wegovy lawsuits and Mounjaro lawsuits have been filed against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, focusing on reports of severe stomach paralysis and other gastrointestinal injuries. While those claims have already been centralized in a federal GLP-1 stomach injury multidistrict litigation (MDL), a new series of lawsuits are emerging that point to a very different and potentially devastating side effect, sudden blindness.

Former Ozempic users experiencing unexplained vision loss, often occurring overnight, have been diagnosed with NAION, a rare but serious form of optic-nerve damage caused by restricted blood flow to the eye. The condition leads to permanent blindness in one or both eyes and currently has no known cure.

As additional injuries are reported by users who claim there were no such warnings on the drug’s label, Ozempic NAION lawsuits are now being filed in courts nationwide, prompting plaintiffs to call for coordinated proceedings to manage the growing number of vision loss claims under a separate pretrial schedule from the gastroparesis lawsuits.

In this featured post, AboutLawsuits.com reviews the growing number of lawsuits linking Ozempic and other popular GLP-1 drugs to sudden vision loss, examining details from recently filed complaints, and how the claims could be centralized in their own federal multidistrict litigation.

Sudden Blindness from Ozempic NAION Side Effects

An NBC News investigation published in November 2025 brought national attention to the first wave of Ozempic blindness lawsuits, featuring the story of Scott Angarola, a 47-year-old man from Pennsylvania who says he lost most of his vision after taking Ozempic for diabetes.

According to a lawsuit filed against Novo Nordisk, Angarola began using Ozempic (semaglutide) in 2022 under his doctor’s supervision to help manage his blood sugar levels. Within months, he began to notice vision problems and was later diagnosed with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a form of optic nerve damage caused by a sudden loss of blood flow to the eye. The condition, often described as an “eye stroke,” leads to irreversible blindness because the optic nerve does not regenerate.

Angarola told NBC News that he was never warned about any risk of blindness when prescribed the medication, and that the sudden, painless loss of vision left him devastated. His complaint alleges that Novo Nordisk knew or should have known about the link between GLP-1 drugs and NAION long before his injury, citing early adverse-event data, internal safety reports, and studies suggesting that semaglutide users face up to twice the risk of optic-nerve ischemia compared to other diabetes treatments.

The lawsuit seeks to hold Novo Nordisk liable for failing to adequately warn physicians and patients about the potential for optic-nerve injury and permanent vision loss.

Blindness Claims Also Emerging for Mounjaro Users

A March 2025 report by the New York Post detailed several patients who developed sudden vision loss after using GLP-1 weight loss drugs, including Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Ozempic (semaglutide). The stories have intensified growing concerns that the risk of NAION may not be limited to any single GLP-1 medication.

One of the individuals profiled, James Norris, a 56-year-old mechanic from Texas, said he began using Mounjaro in March 2023 at 289 pounds, and lost nearly 90 pounds over the following year. In March 2024, Norris woke up with clouded vision in his left eye, followed two weeks later by blurring in his right. Doctors later diagnosed him with bilateral NAION.

The article also featured Michael Sabellico, a 60-year-old from Florida who started Ozempic in March 2024 and noticed his vision deteriorate within eight weeks. He was later diagnosed with NAION, leaving him with 20/70 vision in one eye and 20/30 in the other. Both men told reporters they were never warned that the medications could pose any risk to their eyesight.

Although Ozempic and Mounjaro advertisements caution users about “possible vision changes,” neither manufacturer currently lists NAION or blindness among the identified risks in either the Ozempic Warning Label or Mounjaro Warning Label.

Ozempic Blindness Lawsuits

Dozens of complaints filed since mid-2025 allege that Novo Nordisk has failed to warn doctors and consumers about the risk of NAION and permanent blindness, despite data showing early signs of a link between semaglutide use and optic nerve injury.

In a complaint filed by Elizabeth Pennell, a North Carolina resident, she claims to have developed NAION after using Ozempic from November 2023 through June 2024. According to her complaint, Pennell now suffers permanent vision loss and blurred vision in her left eye, injuries she says were entirely avoidable had Novo Nordisk disclosed evidence linking semaglutide to optic nerve ischemia.

Another lawsuit was filed by Geoffrey Symonds, of New York, who used Ozempic for only a few months between late 2021 and early 2022. Symonds reports far more severe consequences, claiming he lost 85% of the vision in his left eye and continues to experience bilateral visual impairment and anxiety from the sudden decline in sight. His lawsuit states that neither he nor his physician had any knowledge of the potential NAION risk until medical literature was published years later.

Both complaints assert that Novo Nordisk had access to extensive safety data through clinical trials, post-marketing surveillance and adverse event reports showing a plausible causal association between Ozempic and optic nerve ischemia, yet failed to update the drug’s label or alert prescribing physicians.

FDA Data Shows Thousands of Vision Complaints

The claims are further validated by a growing number of reports to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), which reveals more than 2,000 eye-related complications associated with semaglutide and tirzepatide products. Among those vision problems include:

• Blurred vision
• Blindness
• Unilateral (one-eye) blindness
• Transient blindness
• Central vision loss and night blindness

While FAERS data does not confirm causation, the number of cases represents a growing signal that has drawn the attention of regulators in the U.S., Europe and the World Health Organization.

Both the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Danish Medicines Agency are now reviewing semaglutide’s connection to NAION, and the FDA has launched a Sentinel study to investigate whether GLP-1 drugs increase the risk of sudden blindness.

Judicial Panel to Weigh Consolidation of Ozempic NAION Lawsuits

The surge in lawsuits filed over sudden vision loss and blindness has now reached the federal level, with a group of plaintiffs requesting the vision loss claims be consolidated into their own federal multidistrict litigation, separate from the gastroparesis litigation.

According to the December 2025 JPML hearing session docket, a panel of federal judges are now scheduled to hear oral arguments on December 4, 2025, at the U.S. Courthouse in Austin, Texas, where judges will determine whether all federal lawsuits over Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus vision-loss injuries should be centralized.

The proposed proceeding, listed as MDL No. 3163, In re: Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Products Liability Litigation, includes at least 19 federal actions currently pending across the District of New Jersey, Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Northern District of Texas.

If the Panel grants consolidation, the litigation is expected to be transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where a related GLP-1 gastrointestinal injury MDL is already underway before Judge Karen Marston. Centralization would streamline discovery and pretrial proceedings surrounding common allegations that the manufacturers failed to warn about potential optic-nerve damage and irreversible vision loss tied to their blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes medications.

New Jersey Separately Consolidates Vision-Loss Claims in State Court

Meanwhile, at the state level, New Jersey has already adopted this same two-track approach. In June, a group of 21 plaintiffs pursuing Ozempic and Wegovy vision-loss lawsuits in New Jersey asked the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts to create a dedicated multicounty litigation (MCL) to manage the growing number of NAION cases. They argued that the claims should be handled together before one judge, given the overlapping allegations and emerging scientific evidence.

A New Jersey MCL functions as the state’s version of a consolidated mass-tort docket, allowing coordinated discovery and reducing the risk of conflicting rulings as similar lawsuits move forward. Because New Jersey already had about two dozen GLP-1 gastrointestinal injury cases pending in a separate proceeding, the plaintiffs specifically requested that the NAION lawsuits be organized independently of those stomach-paralysis claims.

On November 10, the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed. In a Notice to the Bar, the Court approved the creation of a standalone Ozempic and Wegovy NAION MCL in Bergen County and assigned the litigation to Superior Court Judge Gregg A. Padovano. Judge Padovano was also appointed to oversee the existing GLP-1 gastrointestinal injury MCL, placing both tracks under the same judicial management while keeping them procedurally separate.

Ozempic Side Effect Lawsuits

As both tracks of litigation move forward in federal and state courts, attorneys nationwide are reviewing claims from former GLP-1 drug users who experienced severe gastrointestinal complications or sudden vision loss after taking Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and similar medications.

To determine if you or a loved one are eligible for an Ozempic lawsuit, submit information for review by a lawyer, who will help evaluate the circumstances and determine if you have a claim.

Attorneys handle all Ozempic lawsuits on a contingency fee basis, which means that there are no fees or expenses paid unless a settlement or lawsuit payout is received.