Todd Engel says he lost sight in both eyes after taking Ozempic, as lawsuits allege patients were not adequately warned about a possible link to a rare optic-nerve condition.
Todd Engel, a Maryland resident who says Ozempic left him permanently blind, is warning other patients about what he describes as a hidden danger in one of the world’s best-known diabetes and weight-loss drugs. Yeshivaworld reported that Engel, 63, began taking semaglutide in 2023 to manage type 2 diabetes and later lost sight in both eyes after developing non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, a rare condition that cuts off blood flow to the optic nerve. Consumer Notice said that more than 200 similar lawsuits were pending in a federal multidistrict case as of September 2026, reflecting the growing legal pressure around the medicine.
Engel said the first warning sign came on New Year’s Eve in 2024, when he realised he could no longer see as he prepared for work. “I was horrified. I was very, very upset that I couldn’t see,” he told Fox News Digital, as quoted in Yeshivaworld’s account. After being referred for further tests, including at Johns Hopkins’ Wilmer Eye Institute, he was told he had suffered what is often described as an “eye stroke”. He continued taking Ozempic because he says no one had warned him about a possible link, and about 10 months later he lost vision in his left eye as well.
The loss of sight ended Engel’s long career as a heavy equipment operator and truck driver, work he had done for roughly four decades. He now uses a white cane, counts steps around his home and depends on relatives, including grandchildren, to help him get around. “I wake up in the dark, I go to sleep in the darkness,” he said. His wife, Shelley, has joined him in suing Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker behind Ozempic, claiming the company did not adequately warn patients and doctors about the risk of permanent vision loss.
The legal fight has become part of a wider dispute over whether semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, can trigger NAION in some patients. Drugwatch and OncorLawsuit both report that the claims have been consolidated in multidistrict litigation, while legal-tracking sites say the number of pending cases has continued to rise through 2026. Separately, a September 2026 report from PeptidesBeat said the U.S. label for semaglutide does not specifically list the vision risk, unlike regulators in the European Union and the UK, which have acknowledged it in their guidance.
Novo Nordisk has rejected the allegations, saying available clinical evidence does not prove its drugs cause NAION and that analyses of its trials did not show a higher rate of the condition in patients receiving semaglutide. The company has also said the lawsuits lack merit and that it will defend itself in court. For Engel, the issue is personal as well as legal: he says he would never have agreed to take the drug had he known about the risk, and he is now urging others to research treatment options carefully and seek immediate medical help if they notice sudden changes in vision.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
