Kratom overdose spurs multimillion-dollar payout for family of South Florida nurse who died
WEST PALM BEACH — A federal judge has awarded more than $11 million in damages to the family of a South Florida nurse who fatally overdosed on kratom more than two years ago.
The 39-year-old mother of four collapsed to the floor of her Boynton Beach living room on June 20, 2021. A cup of coffee and an open packet of kratom, the herbal supplement medical examiners would later point to as Krystal Talavera's cause of death, lay on the ground beside her body.
Kratom has been known to cause seizures, respiratory failure and death, though it's touted for its pain-relieving and energy-boosting effects. Reports of kratom-induced overdoses have triggered lawsuits against companies accused of doing little to warn customers about the danger.
The lawsuit: Family of South Florida nurse who OD'd on kratom sues herbal supplement company for her death
Boynton Beach family says kratom package didn't warn of risks
Talavera's family sued Grow LLC, the Idaho-based manufacturer that sold her the supplement, almost a year after her fiancé found her face down on the floor.
Her sudden death interrupted a period of growth and celebration for her family. Originally from The Bronx, New York, the Boynton Beach resident was engaged to be wed. She was promoted to the position of manager at Trustbridge Hospice Care in West Palm Beach, where she worked as a nurse, and she and her fiancé had recently welcomed the youngest of Talavera's four children to the family.
In the lawsuit, Talavera's family said she didn't know about the health risks associated with kratom. There was no warning label, no recommended dosage — only the words "Space Dust," the product's name, scrawled in black marker across an otherwise blank bag.
What to know: Kratom becomes the latest age-restricted product in Florida.
Sean Harder, founder of Grow LLC, told U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks in March that he would not try to defend himself against the Talavera family's accusations. Attorneys for Talavera's family said the move was designed to keep Harder from going to trial and handing over the business records that would identify others involved in the chain of command.
Middlebrooks ordered Harder in May to pay more than $20,000 for the family's funeral expenses and $4.6 million to cover Talavera's lost income. The attorneys returned to court in July to determine how much the kratom supplier still owed in noneconomic damages, which include harder-to-measure losses such as the suffering of her four children.
Kratom judgment should be 'wake-up call' for industry, lawyer says
Talavera's oldest son, Devin Filippelli, told Middlebrooks that his mother died the day after his high school graduation. He planned to study computer science at the University of Florida, but the grief he experienced derailed his plans, he said.
Krystal’s partner, Biaggio Vultaggio, the father of her youngest son, recalled the moment he found Krystal collapsed on the floor as their 14-month-old baby played next to her body. Talavera's ex-husband, Benny Flores, described the pain their two young sons are going through — the 6-year-old keeps asking when his mother is coming back.
In his order, Middlebrooks said no amount of money could make up for the pain Talavera’s children are enduring, but Harder "must pay something, however inadequate." Tamara Williams, who represented the family alongside attorney Michael Cowgill, said Middlebrooks' $11 million judgement should be a "wake-up call" to the kratom industry.
"The industry wants consumers to believe kratom is a safe and natural alternative to opioids and painkillers," she said. "Our position is that's not exactly true."
FDA doesn't regulate kratom, so buyers must beware
At low doses, kratom causes a stimulant effect similar to coffee. At higher ones, it can produce an opioid-like, euphoric state that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration says has led to a steady growth of abuse worldwide.
Stories of relatives coming home to find a loved one dead, a cocktail of kratom and orange juice in their hand, darken the all-natural image suppliers have concocted over the years. But the American Kratom Association, a trade and lobbying group, has helped snuff out attempts to put Kratom in the same class of illegal drugs as heroin, LSD, marijuana and Ecstasy.
Because the supplement isn't regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consumers are left to guess at the makeup of the product sold in gas stations, vape shops and kava bars across Palm Beach County. The FDA tested 30 different kratom products in 2019 and found "significant levels" of lead and nickel in them, which researchers said could cause heavy metal poisoning if consumed over the long term.
“Despite our warnings that no kratom product is safe, we continue to find companies selling kratom and doing so with deceptive medical claims for which there’s no reliable scientific proof,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb in 2018.
According to data provided by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, county medical examiners identified kratom as the cause of death in 29 fatal overdoses in 2021 — more than twice the number in 2020.
“It’s time our government representatives act to protect the people across the country who are addicted to kratom," said Cowgill, one of the family's attorneys.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Family of Florida nurse who overdosed on kratom awarded millions
