Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Over Kratom Overdose

Kratom use has been linked to dozens of deaths, according to the FDA.

The family of a Florida woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against kratom manufacturers, alleging that side effects of the herbal supplement marketed for treatment of pain and anxiety caused devastating side effects to the mother of four children, indicating that the products were sold without adequate warnings about the overdose risks.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Devin Filippelli in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida on November 4, on behalf of the estate of Krystal Talavera. The lawsuit seeks damages from Grow, LLC and it’s owner, for marketing various products as “The Kratom Distro”, including brands like “Space Dust”, “Green Maeng Da”/G2, “Green Horned Maeng Da”/G4 and “Green Riau”/G5

Kratom is a plant native to Asia, whose leaves are taken and crushed to be made into tea, or taken orally as an herbal supplement. Although the supplement is loosely regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned about the increasing popularity of the herb in recent years.

While some individuals use kratom products for their perceived benefits to alleviate pain and anxiety, previous research by the FDA has suggested kratom use could impact neurologic and cardiovascular functions, potentially leading to adverse health consequences such as seizures and respiratory depression.

Talvera’s eldest son, Devin, states his mother began regularly taking kratom products in the years leading up to her sudden death.

On June 20, 2021, Krystal was found unresponsive on her kitchen floor, next to an open bag of defendants Space Dust kratom product. After being rushed to the hospital, Krystal was pronounced dead on arrival.

An autopsy later determined the cause of death was acute mitragynine intoxication. Devin’s lawsuit states that at high concentrations, mitragynine produces opioid-like effects, such as respiratory failure, claiming the toxic effects of Grow LLC’s kratom products caused his mother’s death.

Grow, LLC and its owner are accused of misrepresenting and misleading consumers about the risks of kratom products, such as the risks of abuse, dependence, addiction, overdose, and death, and the lack of instructions on a recommended dosage.

As a result of these alleged failures, the lawsuit brought on behalf of Krystal Talavera’s estate seeks damages against the manufacturer in excess of $75,000 for failure to warn, design and manufacturing defects, fraudulent misrepresentation and negligence, among other claims.

Kratom Side Effects and Warnings

In 2016, the U.S. Justice Department’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed a rule in the Federal Register to temporarily list Kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance, along with heroin and other highly addictive and dangerous drugs. However, the proposed rule was declined by Congress, forcing the DEA to withdraw its plan and call on the FDA to perform a scientific review of Kratom.

In February 2018, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a Kratom warning , citing research that indicates the herbal supplement has been linked to at least 44 deaths associated with the use of Kratom through its Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

The FDA further warned that very little is known about the side effects of kratom and that research by the agency has identified 22 of the 25 compounds in Kratom  may bind to the receptors in the brain that impact neurologic and cardiovascular functions.

The number of poison control calls linked to kratom exposures has also grown significantly in the past few years, with 65% of all exposures occurring in 2016 and 2017. The annual number of calls to U.S. poison control centers involving kratom product exposures increased from 13 in 2011 to nearly 700 in 2017, resulting in a wide variety of injuries including, severe agitation and irritability, neonatal exposures, withdrawal, and tachycardia, which is a medical condition that causes a patient’s heart rate to exceed its normal resting rate.