Amazon Nitrous Oxide Death Lawsuit Set for Trial in December 2027

Mother of three suffered deadly neurological damage after developing a nitrous oxide addiction she allegedly fed through purchases from Amazon.com.

A wrongful death lawsuit alleging Amazon knowingly facilitated the sale of flavored nitrous oxide products for recreational inhalation is scheduled to go before a jury in December 2027.

Christopher and Elisa Good filed the original complaint in May, along with the estate of their daughter, Rylie Good, naming Amazon.com Inc. and Amazon.com Services LLC as defendants. The lawsuit alleges the 25-year-old mother of three became addicted to flavored nitrous oxide products purchased through Amazon before suffering severe neurological injuries and dying in May 2024.

According to the complaint, Rylie routinely purchased Galaxy Gas products through Amazon beginning in late 2023 and inhaled nitrous oxide daily for several months. By December 2023, she was hospitalized with severe nerve damage and myelopathy that left her unable to walk independently, along with vitamin B12 depletion, peripheral neuropathy and cognitive impairment that required ongoing treatment and rehabilitation.

Rylie died from a pulmonary embolism on May 14, 2024. Her parents allege her prolonged nitrous oxide abuse and resulting physical deterioration contributed to her death.

The Goods maintain the frequency and volume of Rylie’s purchases should have alerted Amazon that the products were being used recreationally. The lawsuit claims Amazon continued facilitating the sales without adequate warnings, quantity restrictions or other safeguards, despite having access to purchasing data that could allegedly identify repeated nitrous oxide orders and related inhalation accessories.

Nitrous Oxide Risks

Nitrous oxide is legally sold as a colorless gas used as an anesthetic in medical and dental settings and as a propellant for whipped cream dispensers. However, it is also commonly misused through inhalation to produce a brief euphoric high, which can reduce oxygen levels and contribute to loss of consciousness, neurological damage and death.

Those risks are now at the center of nitrous oxide lawsuits filed in federal courts nationwide against Amazon and other companies involved in selling the products. The claims allege certain manufacturers and distributors market nitrous oxide in oversized canisters and flavors such as cotton candy, blue raspberry and strawberry, which plaintiffs say have little legitimate culinary purpose and are instead intended to encourage recreational inhalation.

Plaintiffs further allege Amazon and the manufacturers knew or should have known the products were being purchased for recreational use, yet continued to sell them without adequate warnings or meaningful safeguards to limit misuse. The lawsuits maintain those failures placed profits above consumer safety and public health.

Nitrous Oxide Wrongful Death Trial

The Good wrongful death lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In a July order (PDF), he scheduled a jury trial over the allegations to begin in December 2027.

The order calls for discovery to be completed by August 9, 2027, with a pretrial order due by November 24, 2027. The trial is expected to last 11 days.

However, Judge Lasnik is urging the parties to try to reach a settlement agreement so that there is no need for a trial. The order calls for the parties to meet for settlement discussions no later than August 23, 2027.

“The settlement conference conducted between the close of discovery and the filing of dispositive motions requires a face-to-face meeting or a telephone conference between persons with authority to settle the case. The settlement conference does not have to involve a third-party neutral.”

– U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik, Western District of Washington

Should the parties reach a settlement at any point, the order urges them to contact the court promptly.

Nitrous Oxide Lawsuits

The case, which would be one of, if not the, first nitrous oxide lawsuits to go to trial, comes as complaints against Amazon over its sale of nitrous oxide products continue to grow.

Claims allege Amazon and the businesses using its platform knowingly enabled the unlawful sale of nitrous oxide for non-medical and non-culinary use, even as evidence mounted that customers were buying the canisters to inhale the gas rather than use it for food preparation.

Nitrous oxide injury lawyers offer free case evaluations to individuals and families who have suffered injuries and may be entitled to financial compensation through a nitrous oxide lawsuit.

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