AUBURN – A Canadian woman who claims to have emotional problems from finding a shard of glass in a tampon six years ago suffered a major setback in court this week.

A Superior Court judge ruled that Lisa Vendrasco-Aere is seeking liability damages in the wrong country.

Vendrasco-Aere filed a lawsuit in Androscoggin County Superior Court in October 2003 against Tambrands, an Auburn tampon manufacturer.

She alleged that six years ago she bought a box of the company’s Super Plus Tampax in a Canadian store, and she later discovered a piece of glass embedded in one of them after she inserted it in her vagina.

She claimed that the shock of the discovery still disrupts her life, and she wanted Tambrands to compensate her for psychological counseling and loss of wages.

Justice Ellen Gorman did not rule on the merits of the case or the validity of the claims.

She simply concluded that Vendrasco-Aere’s charge of strict liability against Tambrands should be argued in Canada, not Maine.

“The allegedly defective tampon was purchased in Canada, the alleged injury occurred in Canada and the plaintiffs and their witnesses are all Canadian,” Gorman ruled. “Their only connection to Maine is that the tampon at issue in this case was manufactured in Auburn.”

Here is the problem for Vendrasco-Aere: Canada’s legal system doesn’t allow claims of strict liability.

Vendrasco-Aere’s lawyer, Patricia Weidler, doesn’t know what the next step will be. She may appeal the judge’s decision or she may decide to drop the case.

“Apparently, Maine products are guaranteed only with Maine citizens,” Weidler said. “It shouldn’t matter who the consumer is.”

Located on Hotel Road, Tambrands has been making tampons since 1968.

The company was bought by Procter & Gamble in 1997. The lawsuit was filed against Tambrands, not Procter & Gamble, because the incident happened before the sale, Weidler said.

In response to the lawsuit, officials at Tambrands have noted the plant’s excellent safety record.

“Millions of women use our products and we’ve never had a case when anyone was injured by a foreign body from a product made here,” a plant manager said in an earlier interview.

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