Baird v. American Medical Optics

This appeal presents two issues. The first is whether the statute of limitations, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2, bars a patient’s claim for lack of informed consent against an ophthalmologist who implanted an intraocular lens in the patient’s eye, the hospital at which the implantation took place, and the manufacturer of the intraocu-lar lens. The second issue is whether federal law preempts the patient’s state-law claims against the manufacturer of the intrao-cular lens, American Medical Optics (“AMO”).

In November 1983, defendant, Dr. Frederick Newman, performed cataract surgery on plaintiff, Eleanor…