Dietary Supplement Injury & Hepatotoxicity

Ohio Pharmaceutical Attorney Reviewing Dietary Supplement Injury and Lawsuits for plaintiffs nationwide

Contaminated and defective dietary supplements on the market can seriously injure consumers in a variety of ways. Ingesting chemicals and toxins in defective supplements may be more common than consumers think, and can lead to serious health complications.

The past few years have seen a sharp increase in the number of drug-related liver injuries caused by dietary supplement  The New England Journal of Medicine, defines hepatotoxicity as an “injury to the liver that is associated with impaired liver function caused by exposure to a drug or other noninfectious agent.”[1]  In recent months, there has been a statistically significant spike (P-value of 0.001) in hepatotoxicity, directly related to intake of herbal and dietary supplements.[2]

Recent data demonstrates that over the past ten years, the relationship between dietary supplement injury and hepatotoxicity have more than doubled from 7% to 20%.[3]  While the spike in drug-related liver concerns is evidently significant, the reason behind the doubling of such cases has not yet been established.  Furthermore, this ten year study was not population-based, so researchers warn that these values may not necessarily be applicable to American citizens as a whole.[4]

Dietary Supplement Injury & Liver Failure

Dietary  Supplement Injury and Hepatotoxicity is now recognized as one of the primary causes of acute liver failure.[6] Read More  One additional study by The Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network (DILIN), was conducted over eight referral centers across the country, and consisted of approximately 800 participants. The significance of the data further suggested that liver injury from non-bodybuilding herbs and supplements is more severe than injury from bodybuilding herbs and supplements.[5]

Dietary Supplement Oversight & Contamination

The New York Times recently published at article detailing the lack of FDA oversight for drugs claiming to be safe supplements for weight loss and bodybuilding. According to the Times, “a federal law enacted in 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, prevents the Food and Drug Administration from approving or evaluating most supplements before they are sold.”

The article specifically highlights the inherent dangers of “green tea extract,” which has apparently caused liver damage leading to hospitalization, the need for a transplant and in some cases, death. Read NY Times Article.

The Lyon Firm aims to protect the consumer from defective products and deceptive supplement marketing. We file lawsuits against supplement producers who fail to protect consumers and manufacture dangerous products.

Weight Loss Risk & Dietary Supplement Injury

Many weight loss supplements are not only dangerous but may be fraudulent with respect to efficacy claims.  Recently, according to a recent article in the New York Times, Sensa Products, L’Occitane, HCG Diet Direct and LeanSpa, were forced by the Federal Trade Commission to pay more than $34 million to refund customers of various weight loss products and supplements.

The F.T.C. believes the companies mislead consumers regarding the effectiveness and safety of the products. The companies have neither admitted nor denied fault. This is part of a larger strategy aimed at cracking down on the controversial weight-loss industry including stricter guidelines for marketing these products.

Supplement Mislabeling Lawsuits

Dietary supplement companies have long been accused of misleading consumers with claims that cannot be backed up with studies or scientific evidence. CBD companies have been recently targeted in class action lawsuits regarding deceptive marketing schemes that tout the CBD products and downplay the possible risks.

Joe Lyon is an experienced Cincinnati catastrophic injury lawyer and Ohio product liability attorney. If you or a loved one have questions about dietary supplement injury and hepatotoxicity and your legal rights,  please do not hesitate to contact the Lyon Firm at (800) 513-2403 for a no-cost consultation.