Lawsuit Filed Over Liver Transplant from OxyElite Pro Supplement

A growing number of OxyElite Pro lawsuits are being filed against USPLabs over their recalled dietary supplement, with one of the latest cases alleging that a former user had to undergo a liver transplant as a result of problems caused by OxyElite Pro.

According to a complaint (PDF) filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii on November 21, Kenneth Waikiki experienced sudden liver failure from OxyElite Pro, which resulted in the need for a liver transplant.

Waikiki indicates that he began taking OxyElite Pro Super Thermo in August 2013, after purchasing the supplement at a GNC store in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. A short time later, he began experiencing OxyElite liver problems similar to those reported by a large number of people nationwide around the same time.

USPLabs issued a nationwide OxyElite Pro recall on November 10, after at least 60 cases of hepatitis, liver failure and other liver injuries were identified by state and federal agencies. Most of the cases surfaced in Hawaii, but reports of OxyElite Pro injuries have also surfaced throughout the contiguous United States.

Although the manufacturer originally resisted removing OxyElite Pro from store shelves, the FDA was able to force the recall after determining that the muscle building and weight loss supplement contained aegeline, an extract from a tree native to India and southeast Asia that the agency determined has not been sufficiently tested.

Waikiki’s lawsuit alleges that USPLabs failed to adequately test OxyElite Pro Super Thermo before putting it on the market, indicating that the manufacturer “simply threw a bunch of synthetic ingredients into a bottle and marketed the product as safe and effective.” The complaint indicates that the company did not conduct “even sham clinical research” and tried to mislead consumers into believing that the products were safe by using phrases like “Scientifically Reviewed” and “Pharmacist Formulated.”

Both USPLabs and GNC Corporation are named as defendants in the complaint, which presents claims for negligence, manufacturing and design defects, failure to warn, and breach of implied warranty.

Just days before this claim was filed, a Hawaiian woman sued USPLabs, claiming OxyElite Pro caused her to suffer hepatitis.

USPLabs also faces an OxyElite class action lawsuit over a previous formulation of the supplement that contained DMAA, which is not in the more recent formulations linked to cases of liver damage. The substance, which some say is linked to heart problems, was removed from the products in April 2012 and has been banned in some countries and by Major League Baseball.