MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. -- A lawsuit claims a 15-year-old girl's epileptic seizure was triggered by a Nintendo video game.
According to the suit, Laura Moceri was playing a popular Nintendo game called Kid Icarus when her eyes rolled back and she blacked out, suffering an epilpetic seizure.
Attorney Douglas Webster filed the product liability lawsuit Wednesday in Macomb County Circuit Court on behalf of Laura and her father, Joseph. He said the suit may be the first of its kind in Michigan.
Laura suffered what is known as a photosensitive epileptic seizure, which some experts say can be triggered -- although not actually caused -- by video games, flashing lights and television sets.
In the lawsuit, Webster said that Nintendo, as well as local distributors who rent the video games, are negligent for not warning customers about Nintendo's potential dangers.
'Her doctor said it was a video game-induced epilepsy,' Webster told the Detroit News. 'The first impression of some people may be: Is this for real? But the medical documentation is there and you're going to see a lot more of this.'
Webster said Laura was a reasonably healthy girl who suffered a loss of comprehension and concentration, affecting her ability to go to school or work, as a result of the seizure.
She will probably take medicine for the rest of her life to help control the epilepsy. The suit seeks damages in excess of $10,000.
A spokesman for Nintendo of America, located near Seattle, said he could not comment on the lawsuit because company officials had not seen it yet.
