Slimquick Lawsuit Filed Over Hepatitis, Liver Injury from Weight-Loss Supplement

A Wisconsin woman is pursuing a lawsuit against the makers of Slimquick, alleging that the weight-loss supplement caused her to suffer hepatitis and permament liver damage. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Cynthia Flowers-Smith, and her husband, Harvey Smith, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on March 16, indicating that there is a link between Slimquick and liver toxicity.

Flowers-Smith indicates that she began taking Slimquick Fat Burner in early November 2013, and by the end of the month she was at the emergency room due to fatigue, indigestion, persistent nausea and constipation. She was referred to a gastroenterologist who determined she suffered from either an infection or drug-induced toxicity that caused liver injury. Her liver tests did not return to normal levels until March 2014, and she suffered symptoms of liver failure the entire time, according to the lawsuit, even though she was taken off Slimquick shortly after she was diagnosed.

According to allegations raised in the Slimquick lawsuit, the weight-loss supplement contains Camellia sinensis (Green Tea Extract) and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Uva-ursi), both of which are known to be harmful to human health and cause liver toxicity. However, since they are classified as dietary supplements, the products weren’t investigated or approved by the FDA for safety or effectiveness.

Slimquick was released in 2005 and has resulted in more than $100 million in sales. It was marketed specifically to women as a safe and effective weight loss tool.

Camellia sinensis was also an ingredient in the dietary supplement Hydroxycut, which was recalled in 2009 after at least 23 reports of liver injury.

The lawsuit claims that the manufacturer knew or should have known about the risk of Slimquick liver damage, yet failed to adequately warn consumers about the risk.

“Indeed, while Defendants failed to warn of the risk of liver toxicity with SLIMQUICK use, the boxes of SLIMQUICK specifically instruct users to cease ingestion of SLIMQUICK if the user experiences nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine or jaundice,” according to the complaint. “These are all symptoms of liver failure, indicating Defendants were well aware of the association between SLIMQUICK and liver toxicity.”

The lawsuit charges the manufacturers with negligence, designing a defective product, strict liability, failure to warn, misrepresentation, and breach of warranty. Harvey Smith has charged the company with loss of consortium. Flowers-Smith seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.