Krystal Talavera’s family win $11 million in Kratom wrongful death lawsuit as Florida judge rules that family suffered catastrophic emotional fallout with Kratom Distro failing to provide warnings or instructions for use.
A Florida judge on Wednesday ordered a kratom distributor to pay more than $11 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Judge Donald Middlebrooks issued a final default judgment against Grow LLC, and Sean Michael Harder, owner and operator of The Kratom Distro, for the kratom-induced death of 39-year-old Krystal Talavera, a mother of four.
Krystal Talavera, 39, was found face down in the kitchen of the family’s $640k home in Palm Beach, Fla, by Biagio Vultaggio, the father of her youngest child on June 20, 2021. At the time, the mom of four was preparing a Father’s Day breakfast for her partner when she mortally succumbed to ingesting kratom moments earlier.
What is kratom and how does it work?
The nurse was next to her one-year-old son and an open bag of ‘Space Dust,’ which is a synthetic drug created from Kratom. It is commonly sold as a supplement in US stores, according to a lawsuit filed by Talavera’s family.
Talavera’s death is one of two wrongful death lawsuits in the U.S. filed by attorneys which have resulted in a multi-million dollar lawsuit in favor of families who have lost someone due to kratom-induced death.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kratom is a plant native to Southeast Asia that can produce stimulant effects in low doses and some opioid-like effects at higher doses when consumed. The Food and Drug Administration has taken action against kratom in November 2017 and issued a public health advisory.
‘I again emphasize that no award of damages will ever be adequate and that this decision reflects nothing more than an adherence to prior cases,’ said Judge Middlebrook.
The complaint argued that Grow LLC, sold their Kratom products ‘without any warning regarding instructions for use,’
Devastating emotional toll
It added the legal high is ‘more dangerous than the ordinary consumer would reasonably expect’ and how the distributor was negligent in selling its products.
Talavera’s lawyers petitioned for Judge Middlebrook to rule in their favor by providing witnesses and evidence to show the impact and cost of Krystal’s death on the children she left behind according to CBS12.
Attorneys for the family shared emotional stories about Krystal’s induced death affected them.
Krystal’s oldest son Devin Filipelli shared with the court how his mother, Krystal, died the day after his high school graduation and how the grief he experienced derailed his college plans.
Mctlaw says Krystal’s ex-husband Benny Flores talked about the pain their two young sons went through and shared that their six-year-old son kept asking when their mother was coming back.
Krystal’s partner, Biaggio Vultaggio, the father of her youngest son shared he found Krystal’s body collapsed on the floor as their 14-month-old played next to their body.
Kratom not approved by FDA
She worked as a registered nurse at Trustbridge Hospice Care in West Palm Beach, and had just been given a promotion.
‘This $11-million judgment should be a wakeup call to the kratom industry about this dangerous and unregulated substance,’ says Talavera’s lawyer Tamara Williams. ‘There are families across the country who know firsthand that kratom is addictive and can be deadly.’
A week prior, Talis Abolins and Michael Cowgill won a $2.5 million dollar injury verdict in another kratom wrongful death against a kratom manufacturer in Washington state.
Of note, the FDA has not approved any prescription or over-the-counter drug products containing kratom.
Between July 2016 and December 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported there were about 153 overdose deaths in which the victim tested positive for kratom.
