Louisiana Kratom Attorneys
Summary
- Kratom is sold as an herbal supplement to self-treat conditions such as anxiety, opioid withdrawal, and muscle pain. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that using kratom comes with serious risks including substance use disorder (SUD).
- Although more than one million Americans purchase kratom annually, the FDA has not approved any prescription or over-the-counter drug products containing kratom. The FDA discourages its use, stressing the potential for acute kratom intoxication.
- Product liability and wrongful death lawsuits are being filed against the makers and sellers of kratom on behalf of victims who purchased a kratom product without knowing the dangers involved and unwittingly suffered injuries or death.
Why Hire HKGC for a Kratom Lawsuit
When a person is injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, an experienced personal injury attorney can help by filing lawsuits seeking compensation for injuries and death caused by the negligence. A kratom lawsuit can provide financial assistance while also ensuring the negligent party takes responsibility. The attorneys at Herman, Katz, Gisleson & Cain are well-versed in kratom product liability and wrongful death cases and filed one of Louisiana’s first kratom lawsuits.
With HKGC’s help, a kratom lawsuit can provide compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, and emotional distress for those injured from kratom use. And, although no amount of money will ever be enough to undo the heartbreak of losing a loved one from kratom, a wrongful death lawsuit can also provide surviving family members compensation for lost earning capacity, loss of love, companionship, attention, and affection, mental pain and suffering, and other wrongful death damages.
Along with holding both the manufacturer and the seller of kratom products accountable through lawsuits, the Louisiana kratom attorneys at HKGC aim to keep others safe from kratom by raising awareness of the product’s adverse side effects.
Contact HKGC today if you or someone you know has suffered from kratom injuries and would like to learn more about your legal options.
What You Need to Know About Kratom
Kratom comes from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa (kratom tree in the coffee family that is native to Southeast Asia). It was first used as a traditional folk medicine by people in Thailand and Malaysia. Now it is sold in pill, capsule, powder, and liquid form. Sales of kratom products have skyrocketed in recent years across the U.S. through online sales, convenience stores, and specialty cafes where teas containing kratom are served.
One of kratom’s main chemical compounds, mitragynine, is known to bind with a person’s brain receptors in a way that is similar to opioids like fentanyl and oxycodone. Some people use it to help with aches and pains while others may use it as an attempt to offset opioid addiction. Along with mitragynine, kratom also consists of compounds called alkaloids that can work like mood enhancers due to the way they bond with serotonin receptors. This has led to people using kratom to help with anxiety and depression.
While some find positive benefits from kratom, others have reported serious health concerns from kratom use, including psychiatric, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and respiratory problems. There also is evidence that dozens of overdoses involving kratom occur in the U.S. each year. Although statistics on kratom fatalities are not yet gathered regularly by the Federal government, in one study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), kratom was a cause of death in nearly 100 people over a 17-month period.
The FDA has stressed that there are no “drug products” containing kratom legally sold in the U.S. marketplace. Yet, countless manufacturers and distributors sell their kratom products under the guise of safe herbal supplements, and they do so without providing exact details of the ingredients or giving dosing instructions. This can leave users in a hazardous position.
Health and government agencies around the world have expressed concern that kratom products cause harm, and here in the U.S., the FDA has instructed the American public not to use kratom products because of “the risk of serious adverse events, including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder (SUD).”
Symptoms of Kratom Injuries
The adverse effects of kratom range from mild symptoms including dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, and constipation to more severe symptoms of tremors, seizures, heart and lung problems, high blood pressure, substance abuse disorder, seizures, liver problems, and even death.
The FDA has also documented cases involving neonatal abstinence syndrome. This condition occurs when a baby withdraws from drugs or other substances they were exposed to in the womb before birth.
Health officials do not have extensive information on the long-term impacts of kratom, but liver problems have been identified. Researchers are still learning about the seriousness of withdrawal or substance use disorder symptoms with regular, long-term kratom use.
How a Kratom Lawsuit Can Help
Entities like the FDA have stood firm in condemning the distribution and sale of kratom products, but usage continues to grow in popularity. With manufacturers and sellers continuing to market their products as safe and effective without warnings of injury and the chance of overdose, people’s lives are at risk
Kratom lawsuits can help prevent more needless tragedies from occurring while helping victims who have sustained injuries from kratom products or family members of those who have died to receive deserved compensation. The product liability lawyers at HKGC can help determine who can be held liable for the manufacturing and marketing of a kratom product, walk you through the legal process, and fight for your rights and interests. Contact us today for more information or a free case consultation.
Kratom Frequently Asked Questions
People use kratom to alleviate pain, treat anxiety and depression, help stop or reduce opioid or other substance use, and manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings related to opioids and other drugs.
Research is still being conducted to understand the risks of kratom use, but several safety issues and severe health effects have been identified. Health issues related to kratom can include liver toxicity, seizures, substance use disorder (SUD), and even death. There have also been reported cases of kratom products contaminated with Salmonella and heavy metals that could lead to other illnesses. Newborns exposed to kratom before birth have shown withdrawal symptoms including jitteriness, irritability, and muscle stiffness.
Kratom can cause mild side effects, such as nausea, constipation, dizziness, and drowsiness. More serious health issues include mental and neurological symptoms, heart and lung problems, nausea, vomiting, and liver problems.
There is no overarching federal law governing or regulating the distribution of kratom. However, six states have banned its sale at the state level, including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Certain cities across the U.S. have banned or established regulations for kratom, including Denver, Sarasota, and San Diego. In Louisiana, kratom is prohibited in Ascension, Grant, LaSalle, and Rapides Parishes, and more parishes are considering a ban over the next year.
