NEW YORK, Oct. 15 -- Todd Engel, a 63-year-old Maryland man, says the vision in his right eye went dark on New Year's Eve 2024, and that by the time his left eye failed about ten months later he was legally blind.

He blames Ozempic. Engel, a heavy equipment operator and truck driver for Howard County Highways, was first prescribed the drug in 2023 for type 2 diabetes. Doctors diagnosed non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve that he was told was an "eye stroke." His blood work and blood pressure were normal, his wife, Shelley, says, and testing found no other common risk factor.

Engel has sued Novo Nordisk, alleging the company failed to warn patients and doctors about vision l...