Learn More About Kratom Injuries and Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Working to Hold Kratom Manufacturers and Sellers Accountable for Addiction, Overdoses, Serious Injuries, and Wrongful Deaths
Kratom is sold openly at gas stations, smoke shops, and online retailers across the country — marketed as a natural, legal alternative to prescription painkillers. Many people turned to it for chronic pain or opioid withdrawal, trusting that a product sold so openly was safe.
What many consumers were never told is that kratom contains compounds that act on the brain’s opioid receptors. Potency varies widely, and concentrated extracts can expose users to significantly higher levels of active compounds — leading to dependence, withdrawal, overdose, and in some cases, death.
Kratom lawsuits allege that manufacturers and sellers failed to warn consumers about these risks. Families have already secured multimillion-dollar verdicts in kratom wrongful death cases.
Dolman Law Group is investigating claims on behalf of people seriously injured by kratom products and families who lost loved ones. If you or someone you love was harmed, our attorneys can evaluate your situation and determine whether you may have a case.
Can You File a Lawsuit if Kratom Caused Your or a Loved One Serious Harm?
Yes, if kratom caused serious injuries or the wrongful death of a loved one, you may have grounds to pursue a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer or other responsible parties. These claims often allege that manufacturers failed to adequately warn consumers about known or foreseeable risks associated with their products. A successful lawsuit may seek compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages.
Quick Facts About Kratom Lawsuits
- Kratom Lawsuits Are Already Being Filed: Consumers and families have pursued product liability and wrongful death claims alleging that kratom products caused addiction, overdoses, serious injuries, and deaths.
- Multimillion-Dollar Outcomes Have Been Reported: Kratom wrongful death cases have resulted in substantial verdicts and judgments, including an award of more than $11 million in a Florida case.
- Kratom Products Can Vary Widely in Potency: Powders, capsules, liquid shots, extracts, and 7-OH products can expose consumers to very different concentrations of active compounds.
- Kratom Has Opioid-Like Effects: Mitragynine and 7-OH interact with opioid receptors and can contribute to tolerance, dependence, withdrawal, overdose, and other serious complications.
- Multiple Companies May Be Responsible: Manufacturers, processors, importers, distributors, online sellers, smoke shops, gas stations, and other retailers may potentially be liable.
- Dolman Law Group Represents Clients Nationwide: We investigate qualifying kratom injury and wrongful death claims across the United States and charge no upfront attorney fees.
Kratom Lawsuit Updates
Kratom lawsuits and regulatory actions continue to develop as researchers and government agencies focus on concentrated extracts, inaccurate labeling, rising poison control reports, and products containing elevated levels of 7-hydroxymitragynine, commonly called 7-OH.
There is currently no federal multidistrict litigation, or MDL, consolidating all kratom lawsuits. Most serious personal injury and wrongful death claims continue to proceed individually in state and federal courts.
July 6, 2026 – DEA Publishes Notice of Intent to Place Concentrated 7-OH in Schedule I
The Drug Enforcement Administration published a formal Notice of Intent to temporarily place 7-OH products exceeding specified concentration thresholds into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
The proposal would apply to kratom plant material containing more than 0.050% 7-OH by dry weight. It would also cover extracts, concentrates, processed edibles, pressed pills, and synthetic products containing more than 0.050% 7-OH or more than one milligram of 7-OH in the finished product.
The DEA determined that temporarily scheduling concentrated 7-OH was necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to public safety. If the temporary scheduling order is finalized, covered products would become subject to the criminal, civil, and regulatory restrictions that apply to Schedule I controlled substances.
The DEA stated that the final temporary scheduling order will not be issued before August 5, 2026. Once published, the order would remain in effect for two years, with the possibility of a one-year extension while the government considers permanent scheduling.
July 6, 2026 – HHS Opens Public Comment Period on Proposed 7-OH Thresholds
The Department of Health and Human Services also opened a public docket seeking input on the concentration thresholds the federal government intends to use when determining which 7-OH products will be scheduled.
The request asks whether additional scientific evidence supports the proposed limits or a different threshold for determining when a product presents an imminent hazard to public safety.
The public comment period is scheduled to close on July 31, 2026. Comments will be provided to the Attorney General for consideration before the government issues the temporary scheduling order.
July 1, 2026 – HHS and FDA Support Federal Action Against Enhanced 7-OH Products
HHS and the FDA publicly supported the DEA’s move to temporarily schedule concentrated 7-OH and several related synthetic compounds.
The federal action is aimed at enhanced and synthetic products rather than traditional kratom leaf containing only naturally occurring trace amounts of 7-OH.
Government officials also identified mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 as related substances of concern. These synthetic or chemically altered compounds have appeared in candies, tablets, and liquid shots, including products marketed to consumers as kratom extracts.
HHS emphasized that the action is not intended to regulate natural kratom leaf that does not contain enhanced levels of 7-OH.
May 4, 2026 – California Files Legal Action Against Kratom Product Manufacturer
The California Department of Public Health filed a legal complaint against Ashlynn Marketing Group over the manufacture and distribution of kratom-derived products.
California health officials maintain that kratom and 7-OH products are illegal to manufacture or sell for consumption in the state and have been associated with addiction, overdose, serious injuries, and death.
The action followed an expanding California enforcement campaign targeting kratom products sold through smoke shops, convenience stores, and other retail locations.
March 26, 2026 – CDC Reports 1,200% Increase in Kratom Poison Center Reports
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a nationwide analysis of kratom exposure reports received by U.S. poison control centers between 2015 and 2025.
Annual kratom-related exposure reports increased from 258 in 2015 to a record 3,434 in 2025, representing an increase of approximately 1,200%.
Poison centers received 14,449 kratom exposure reports during the 11-year study period. The CDC also found that reports involving multiple substances, frequently including addictive drugs and antidepressants, were associated with the most severe medical outcomes.
The researchers specifically cited the shift from traditional kratom leaf preparations to concentrated, high-potency alkaloid products as an increasing public health concern.
March 3, 2026 – California Reports Removal of Thousands of Kratom and 7-OH Products
California announced that state agents and licensed businesses had removed more than 3,300 kratom and 7-OH products from store shelves during an enforcement and education campaign.
State officials reported visiting more than 4,500 licensed locations and achieving approximately 95% compliance with California’s prohibition on selling kratom and 7-OH products for consumption.
California also reported seizing more than $5 million worth of kratom and 7-OH products since issuing a statewide consumer warning in October 2025.
The state cited a lack of FDA approval, inconsistent labeling and potency, and risks involving dependence, respiratory depression, overdose, and death as reasons for the enforcement campaign.
December 2025 – FDA and Federal Authorities Seize Approximately $1 Million in 7-OH Products
The FDA, Department of Justice, and U.S. Marshals Service seized approximately $1 million worth of 7-OH products from three companies in Missouri.
Federal officials described the products as unlawful dietary supplements and foods containing concentrated 7-OH.
The seizure followed growing concern that companies were selling enhanced 7-OH tablets, gummies, shots, and other products without FDA approval or adequate evidence that the products were safe.
July 29, 2025 – FDA Recommends Federal Restrictions on Concentrated 7-OH
The FDA announced that it was recommending federal controlled-substance restrictions on certain products containing concentrated 7-OH.
The agency emphasized that its recommendation targeted enhanced 7-OH products rather than traditional kratom leaf.
The FDA warned that concentrated 7-OH binds to opioid receptors and presents risks involving abuse, dependence, and other opioid-related complications. The agency also raised concerns about fruit-flavored gummies, tablets, drink mixes, liquid shots, and other products that could be particularly attractive to children and teenagers.
July 2025 – FDA Issues Warning Letters to Seven Companies Selling 7-OH Products
The FDA issued warning letters to seven companies accused of illegally marketing and distributing products containing concentrated 7-OH.
The products included tablets, gummies, drink mixes, and liquid shots.
The warning letters marked one of the first coordinated federal enforcement actions directed specifically at the growing commercial market for enhanced 7-OH products.
April 15, 2025 – $8.75 Million Feel Free Wellness Tonic Settlement Announced
An $8.75 million settlement was reached in a class action involving Feel Free Wellness Tonic, a beverage containing kratom and kava that was marketed as a wellness product and alcohol alternative.
The lawsuit alleged that Botanic Tonics failed to adequately disclose the addictive nature of kratom and misled consumers about the product.
Unlike the major kratom wrongful death cases, the Feel Free litigation focused largely on consumer deception, product marketing, purchases, and allegations that users developed dependence after consuming the tonic.
The settlement provided compensation to qualifying consumers based on the number of Feel Free bottles they purchased.
July 27, 2023 – Florida Court Awards More Than $11 Million in Kratom Wrongful Death Case
A federal judge entered a judgment exceeding $11 million against Grow LLC, which operated as Kratom Distro, following the death of Krystal Talavera.
The lawsuit alleged that Talavera died from acute mitragynine intoxication after using a kratom product sold without adequate warnings about addiction and death.
The award was entered as a default judgment after the defendants failed to effectively defend the lawsuit. Although the outcome demonstrated the potential financial exposure facing kratom sellers, a default judgment does not carry the same litigation history as a case fully tried before a jury.
July 18, 2023 – Washington Jury Awards $2.5 Million in First Kratom Wrongful Death Verdict
A Washington jury awarded $2.5 million to the family of Patrick Coyne after finding Society Botanicals LLC, which operated as Kratom Divine, and its owner liable in connection with his death.
The case was widely reported as the first kratom wrongful death lawsuit in the United States to result in a jury verdict.
Unlike the Florida default judgment, the Washington case was presented to a jury, which found the defendants liable under product liability claims involving the kratom products sold to Coyne.
What Is Kratom and Why Has It Become So Popular?
Kratom is a substance derived from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, a tree native to Southeast Asia. People in countries including Thailand and Malaysia have traditionally chewed kratom leaves or brewed them into tea for stimulant and pain-relieving effects.
The products now sold in the United States can look very different from traditional kratom use. Consumers can purchase powders, capsules, gummies, concentrated liquid shots, extracts, enhanced products, and tablets containing elevated levels of individual kratom-derived compounds.
Kratom is not approved by the FDA to treat pain, opioid withdrawal, addiction, anxiety, depression, or any other medical condition. Even so, millions of Americans have used these products.
How the Opioid Epidemic Helped Create a Market for Kratom
The opioid epidemic changed how prescription painkillers are prescribed and regulated. As healthcare providers and regulators responded to widespread addiction and overdose deaths, access to prescription opioids became more restricted.
But reducing opioid prescriptions did not eliminate chronic pain, dependence, or withdrawal. People continued looking for relief.
Kratom entered that market as an easily accessible alternative. Consumers could buy it without a prescription, and products were often promoted or discussed as natural ways to manage pain, improve mood, increase energy, or stop using opioids.
For someone struggling with chronic pain or opioid dependence, that can be a powerful sales pitch. The product is legal. It comes from a plant. It is sold in a store. No prescription is required.
It can be easy to assume that means the product has been tested, standardized, and proven safe. That assumption is part of the problem.
Kratom products do not go through the FDA approval process required for prescription drugs. Consumers may be using psychoactive products without standardized dosing, consistent potency, medical supervision, or adequate information about dependence, withdrawal, overdose, and other risks.
How Does Kratom Affect the Brain and Body?
Kratom contains dozens of naturally occurring compounds known as alkaloids. The two most important compounds for understanding the current safety concerns are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, commonly called 7-OH.
Mitragynine is the primary alkaloid naturally present in kratom leaves. After kratom is consumed, the body can also convert some mitragynine into 7-OH.
Both compounds interact with opioid receptors in the brain. These are some of the same receptors affected by morphine, heroin, oxycodone, fentanyl, and other opioids.
Lower amounts may produce stimulant-like effects, including increased energy and alertness. Larger amounts can produce opioid-like effects, including pain relief, sedation, and euphoria.
Repeated use can lead to tolerance and physical dependence. A person may need more of the product to achieve the same effects and experience withdrawal when they try to stop.
What Types of Kratom Products Are Sold?
The modern kratom market includes much more than dried leaves and powder.
Kratom Powder: Dried kratom leaves are ground into powder and consumed directly, mixed with beverages, or brewed as tea.
Kratom Capsules: Capsules containing kratom powder or extract.
Kratom Gummies and Edibles: Flavored products that may contain extracts or isolated alkaloids.
Kratom Liquid Shots: Small bottles of concentrated liquid extract that can contain much higher levels of active compounds than traditional preparations.
Kratom Extracts: Products manufactured by concentrating compounds found in kratom leaves.
Enhanced Kratom Products: Products made by adding extracts or isolated compounds to conventional kratom powder to increase potency.
7-OH Products: Tablets, gummies, shots, drink mixes, and other products containing elevated concentrations of 7-hydroxymitragynine.
Two products sold next to each other can contain very different concentrations of active compounds. A consumer who switches products or moves from powder to an extract may significantly increase their exposure without realizing it.
Why Is Kratom Dangerous?
Kratom can be dangerous because the products sold today often differ significantly from traditional kratom preparations.
Many products available in the U.S. are concentrated extracts, liquid shots, enhanced formulations, isolated compounds, or high-potency 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products that may vary widely in strength and composition.
Consumers may have no reliable way to determine a product’s potency or whether it contains consistent concentrations from one batch to the next, making it difficult to make informed decisions about the potential risks.
Kratom Products Can Vary Significantly in Potency
One of the biggest concerns is inconsistency.
The concentration of mitragynine, 7-OH, and other active compounds can vary based on the plant material, processing methods, extraction process, formulation, and manufacturer.
A consumer may tolerate one product and experience very different effects after switching brands or purchasing a concentrated version. Products can also be reformulated.
Without standardized potency requirements and clear labeling, consumers may have difficulty knowing how much of an opioid-like substance they are actually taking.
Serving Sizes May Not Tell Consumers How Much They Are Taking
A small bottle can look like a single serving. The label may say otherwise.
Some concentrated products contain multiple servings in containers that can easily be consumed at once. Even when a serving size is provided, the label may not clearly explain how much mitragynine, 7-OH, or other active compounds the consumer will ingest.
Laboratory testing has also raised concerns about differences between product labels and the concentrations of active compounds found in commercial kratom products.
When consumers cannot reliably determine what is in a product or how much they are taking, avoiding an unsafe dose becomes much more difficult.
Concentrated Extracts Can Deliver Much Higher Doses
Concentrated extracts allow manufacturers to put large amounts of active compounds into small bottles, capsules, tablets, gummies, and other products.
A consumer can swallow a concentrated liquid shot in seconds without understanding how its potency compares to conventional kratom powder.
That difference matters. The concentration of the product, serving recommendations, warnings, and representations made to consumers can all become important issues in a kratom lawsuit.
Kratom Can Cause Dependence and Withdrawal
Regular kratom use can lead to tolerance and physical dependence.
Someone may start using kratom occasionally for pain, energy, or opioid withdrawal and gradually increase how much they take or how often they use it.
Withdrawal symptoms can include anxiety, irritability, insomnia, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, sweating, restlessness, depression, and strong cravings.
This risk is especially important for people who started using kratom to stop taking prescription opioids or other addictive drugs. Instead of escaping physical dependence, they may develop a new dependence on kratom or increasingly potent kratom-derived products.
Kratom Can Interact With Other Drugs and Medications
Many serious injuries and deaths associated with kratom involve people who also had prescription medications, alcohol, illegal drugs, or other substances in their systems.
That does not automatically mean kratom played no role.
Kratom may interact with other substances or affect how the body processes certain medications. Combining kratom with opioids, benzodiazepines, alcohol, sedatives, or other substances that affect the central nervous system can increase the risk of serious complications.
Manufacturers and sellers may argue that another drug or an underlying medical condition caused the injury or death. Medical records, toxicology reports, autopsy findings, product testing, and qualified experts can become critical to determining what happened.
Kratom Products May Be Contaminated or Adulterated
Consumers must rely on manufacturers and sellers to ensure kratom products contain what the labels claim.
Concerns have been raised about bacterial contamination, heavy metals, undisclosed ingredients, and inconsistent concentrations of active compounds.
A contaminated, adulterated, or improperly manufactured product may support different claims than a lawsuit based on inadequate warnings or dangerous product design.
Consumers May Not Receive Adequate Warnings
At the center of many kratom lawsuits is a simple question: What were consumers told about the product they were buying?
Someone purchasing a product described as natural, plant-based, or a safer alternative to opioids may not expect that repeated use can lead to dependence and withdrawal.
They may not know that one small bottle contains multiple servings, that an extract is significantly more potent than kratom powder, or that a product contains elevated levels of 7-OH.
When companies sell psychoactive products capable of causing serious harm, consumers have a right to receive accurate information about the product and its risks.
What Injuries and Health Problems Are Associated With Kratom?
Kratom can cause a wide range of health problems, from nausea and dizziness to severe dependence, seizures, organ damage, overdose, and death.
Serious complications associated with kratom use may include:
- Seizures: Kratom exposure has been associated with seizures and other neurological complications.
- Liver Injury: Some people have developed acute liver injuries requiring hospitalization and ongoing care.
- Cardiovascular Complications: Kratom can affect heart rate and blood pressure and may contribute to abnormal heart rhythms or other cardiac problems.
- Severe Sedation or Loss of Consciousness: Higher doses, concentrated products, and combinations with other substances can cause extreme drowsiness, confusion, or unconsciousness.
- Respiratory Depression: Kratom’s opioid-like effects may contribute to dangerously slow or ineffective breathing.
- Dependence and Withdrawal: Regular use can lead to tolerance, physical dependence, and significant withdrawal symptoms.
- Overdose and Death: Concentrated extracts, inconsistent potency, high levels of 7-OH, drug interactions, and multiple servings can contribute to severe poisoning and fatal outcomes.
Can You Overdose on Kratom?
Yes. A person can suffer severe poisoning, life-threatening complications, or death after consuming kratom or concentrated kratom-derived products.
There is no single standardized dose. One product may contain traditional powder, while another may be a highly concentrated extract. A small bottle can contain multiple servings, and a 7-OH product can expose a consumer to concentrations very different from traditional kratom leaf.
Signs of a serious overdose can include extreme sedation, confusion, loss of consciousness, difficulty breathing, seizures, severe vomiting, abnormal heart rate, coma, and death.
Anyone experiencing severe symptoms after using kratom should receive immediate medical attention.
What If Other Drugs Were Found in the Person’s System?
The presence of another substance does not automatically mean kratom played no role in an injury or death.
Defendants may argue that another drug, an underlying medical condition, or the consumer’s conduct caused the injury. The question is whether kratom caused, contributed to, or increased the risk of the injury or death.
Toxicology reports, medical records, autopsy findings, product testing, and expert testimony can be especially important in these cases.
Can You File a Kratom Addiction Lawsuit?
Possibly. Developing dependence does not automatically mean someone has a viable lawsuit, but consumers who suffered severe and documented harm may have grounds to investigate a claim.
Important factors can include:
- The specific kratom product used
- How the product was marketed or advertised
- Whether adequate warnings or safety information were provided
- The duration and frequency of use
- Efforts to reduce or stop using the product
- Any medical treatment or addiction treatment received
- The financial, physical, and emotional damages suffered, including lost income
Claims may be particularly significant when companies promoted kratom as a safe or non-addictive alternative to opioids without adequately warning that repeated use could lead to dependence and withdrawal.
Can You File a Kratom Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Yes – if kratom caused or contributed to a loved one’s death, eligible family members or an estate representative may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
These cases often require careful review of the product, toxicology results, autopsy findings, medical history, other substances involved, and the warnings provided to the consumer.
State law determines who may file a wrongful death lawsuit and what damages may be available.
What Is 7-OH and Why Are Regulators Concerned About It?
7-hydroxymitragynine, commonly called 7-OH, is an opioid-like compound associated with kratom.
Traditional kratom leaves contain only trace amounts of 7-OH. The products now being sold as 7-OH can be very different.
Manufacturers can create tablets, gummies, liquid shots, and other products containing concentrations far greater than those naturally found in kratom leaves.
Is 7-OH the Same as Kratom?
No. Traditional kratom and concentrated 7-OH products should not be treated as interchangeable.
Kratom leaves contain dozens of naturally occurring compounds. Concentrated 7-OH products are manufactured specifically to deliver much larger amounts of one potent opioid-like compound.
Consumers may purchase these products from the same gas stations, smoke shops, and websites that sell conventional kratom without understanding how different they can be.
Why Are 7-OH Products Concerning?
7-OH acts on mu-opioid receptors and can produce pain relief, sedation, euphoria, tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal.
Commercial products can deliver concentrated amounts in small tablets, gummies, or bottles that are inexpensive, easy to consume, and available without a prescription.
The rapid growth of these products has also outpaced the ability of regulators to evaluate their safety and respond to new formulations.
Can You File a 7-OH Lawsuit?
You may be able to pursue compensation if you suffered a serious injury or lost a loved one after using a concentrated 7-OH product.
A 7-OH or 7-hydroxymitragynine lawsuit may involve inadequate warnings, unsafe serving recommendations, misleading marketing, undisclosed potency, defective product design, or other allegations against manufacturers, distributors, and sellers.
What Kratom Brands and Products Have Been Named in Lawsuits?
Brands and products named in kratom lawsuits have involved powders, concentrated extracts, liquid shots, wellness drinks, and other products containing kratom or kratom-derived compounds.
Being named in a lawsuit does not mean every product sold by a company is dangerous or that every consumer who used the product has a claim.
OPMS Kratom Products
OPMS sells kratom capsules, liquid extracts, shots, and other products. OPMS products have been named in product liability and wrongful death lawsuits alleging inadequate warnings about addiction, overdose, and death.
Feel Free Wellness Tonic
Feel Free Wellness Tonic is a beverage containing kratom and kava that has been marketed as an alcohol alternative and wellness product.
Consumers have filed lawsuits alleging that they developed dependence, withdrawal, and other damages after using the product. The litigation has also raised questions about whether consumers received adequate information about the presence and risks of kratom.
Kratom Distro Products
Kratom Distro products were involved in the Florida wrongful death lawsuit that resulted in a judgment of more than $11 million.
Kratom Divine Products
Kratom Divine products were involved in the first reported kratom wrongful death lawsuit to reach a jury verdict. A Washington jury awarded $2.5 million to the family of a woman who died after using the products.
Concentrated Kratom Extracts and Liquid Shots
Many potential claims involve concentrated products rather than traditional kratom leaf.
The product’s potency, serving size, warnings, labeling, and marketing can all become important issues when investigating an injury or death.
What If You Do Not Remember Which Brand You Used?
Not knowing the exact product does not necessarily prevent an attorney from investigating a claim.
Receipts, credit card statements, online orders, email confirmations, photographs, text messages, medical records, and witness statements may help identify the product.
The store where the kratom was purchased can also provide important information through inventory records, distributor invoices, loyalty accounts, or other records.
Kratom and Other Dangerous “Gas Station Drugs”
Kratom is part of a larger market for psychoactive substances sold through gas stations, convenience stores, smoke shops, vape shops, and online retailers.
Consumers may encounter these substances under brand names, chemical names, slang terms, or descriptions such as natural supplements, mood enhancers, alcohol alternatives, and legal highs.
What Are the Street Names and Other Names for Kratom?
Kratom may be referred to as:
- Ketum
- Biak-biak
- Thom
- *Mitragyna speciosa*
- Mitragynine
- 7-OH
- Kratom shots
- Kratom extracts
- Gas station kratom
The terms “gas station heroin” and “gas station dope” are also sometimes used when discussing kratom and other readily available substances with opioid-like effects. These terms do not refer to one specific drug.
What Is “Gas Station Heroin”?
“Gas station heroin” is most commonly associated with tianeptine, although the term may also be used more broadly to describe kratom, 7-OH, and other substances capable of causing opioid-like effects, dependence, or withdrawal.
Tianeptine is an antidepressant approved for medical use in some countries but not approved by the FDA for medical use in the United States.
Products have been sold under names including ZaZa, Tianaa, Pegasus, TD Red, and Neptune’s Fix. At high doses, tianeptine can produce opioid-like effects and lead to dependence, severe withdrawal, poisoning, and death.
What Is Phenibut?
Phenibut is a central nervous system depressant used medically in some countries, but is not approved by the FDA as a medication in the United States.
It has been sold online and through some retailers for anxiety, relaxation, sleep, and mood improvement. Regular use can lead to physical dependence and severe withdrawal symptoms, including agitation, hallucinations, insomnia, and seizures.
What About Kava and Kratom Combination Products?
Kava and kratom are different plants, but some products contain both substances and are marketed as wellness tonics, relaxation drinks, or alcohol alternatives.
Feel Free Wellness Tonic is one prominent example. Lawsuits allege that consumers developed dependence and suffered other damages and that the marketing did not adequately communicate the presence and risks of kratom.
What Do K2 and Spice Have to Do With Kratom?
Synthetic cannabinoids, known as K2 or Spice, provide an example of how the market for psychoactive products can evolve faster than regulators can respond.
As governments banned specific synthetic compounds, manufacturers introduced new formulations that were not yet expressly prohibited.
The products are not the same, but the regulatory challenge is familiar. The kratom market has moved from traditional plant material to concentrated extracts, isolated alkaloids, and high-potency 7-OH products.
Legal availability does not mean a product has standardized dosing, consistent concentrations, adequate manufacturing controls, or meaningful warnings.
Why Are Kratom Companies Being Sued?
Kratom lawsuits generally allege that manufacturers and sellers put dangerous products into the marketplace without adequately warning consumers about addiction, overdose, serious injuries, and death.
Common allegations include:
Failure to Warn: Consumers were not adequately warned about dependence, withdrawal, drug interactions, respiratory depression, overdose, or death.
Inconsistent or Undisclosed Potency: Products contained levels of mitragynine, 7-OH, or other active compounds that were not clearly disclosed or consistently manufactured.
Misleading Serving Sizes: Small bottles or packages appeared to contain one dose, even though the label listed multiple servings or did not clearly explain the amount of active compounds.
Dangerously Concentrated Products: Manufacturers sold extracts, liquid shots, enhanced kratom, or 7-OH products containing much higher concentrations than traditional kratom leaf.
Misleading Marketing: Products were promoted as natural, safe, non-addictive, or appropriate alternatives to prescription opioids without adequate support or warnings.
Targeting People Seeking Opioid Alternatives: Companies marketed products to people living with chronic pain or opioid dependence without clearly explaining that kratom itself can cause dependence and withdrawal.
Contamination or Inadequate Testing: Products contained bacteria, heavy metals, undisclosed substances, inconsistent potency, or other defects that proper testing and quality controls may have identified.
What Legal Claims May Be Included?
Depending on the facts of the case and applicable state law, a kratom lawsuit may include claims such as failure to warn, defective design, manufacturing defects, negligence, breach of warranty, consumer protection violations, or wrongful death. In some cases, claims may be brought against multiple companies involved in manufacturing, marketing, distributing, or selling the product.
A single lawsuit may include several claims against multiple companies involved in manufacturing, marketing, distributing, or selling the product.
Who May Qualify to File a Kratom Lawsuit?
People who suffered serious injuries after using kratom—and families who lost loved ones—may have grounds to pursue a lawsuit.
Potential claimants may include:
- People Who Suffered Serious Medical Complications: This may include seizures, liver damage, respiratory problems, cardiac events, severe poisoning, or other injuries requiring significant treatment.
- People Who Were Hospitalized or Survived an Overdose: Emergency treatment, intensive care, respiratory depression, or prolonged hospitalization may support a claim.
- People Who Developed Severe Dependence: Claims may be considered when a consumer required detoxification, medical care, addiction treatment, or suffered substantial financial and personal losses.
- People Injured by Concentrated Extracts or 7-OH: These claims may involve undisclosed potency, misleading serving sizes, inadequate warnings, or dangerous product design.
- Families Who Lost a Loved One: Eligible relatives or estate representatives may be able to pursue wrongful death and survival claims.
Whether you may have a claim depends on the specific facts of your case, including the product used, how it was marketed, the warnings provided, the injuries suffered, and the available medical and other evidence.
What Evidence Can Help Support a Kratom Lawsuit?
A strong kratom lawsuit is typically supported by evidence showing which product was used, how it was marketed, what injuries occurred, and how the product may have contributed to the harm.
- Product and Packaging: Remaining product, bottles, bags, lot numbers, serving instructions, and warnings may identify the product and allow for laboratory testing.
- Purchase and Digital Records: Receipts, bank statements, credit card charges, online orders, emails, photographs, texts, and loyalty accounts can help establish product use.
- Medical and Toxicology Records: Emergency care, hospitalization, laboratory testing, addiction treatment, toxicology reports, autopsy findings, and death certificates can document exposure and injury.
- Advertising and Marketing: Websites, product descriptions, social media posts, influencer promotions, and store displays may show how the product was represented.
- Witness Statements: Family members, friends, coworkers, roommates, and healthcare providers may have information about the product, symptoms, dependence, or attempts to stop.
- Employment and Financial Records: These records can help establish lost income, treatment expenses, reduced earning ability, and other damages.
You do not need every piece of evidence before speaking with an attorney. Additional records and other evidence can often be obtained during the investigation of a potential claim.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Kratom Injuries and Deaths?
A kratom product can pass through several companies before it reaches the consumer. Raw plant material may be imported, processed into powder or extracts, concentrated, packaged under a brand name, distributed to retailers, and sold in a store or online.
Potential defendants may include:
- Manufacturers, Formulators, and Extract Producers: Companies responsible for unsafe formulations, excessive concentrations, defective products, contamination, inadequate testing, misleading serving sizes, or insufficient warnings.
- Importers, Distributors, and Wholesalers: Companies that brought the material into the United States or continued distributing products after receiving complaints, warnings, or other information about the risks.
- Online Sellers and Retailers: Websites, gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops may potentially be responsible, depending on their role, representations, and state law.
- Marketing and Private-Label Companies: Businesses involved in branding, packaging, promotion, or private-label sales may face liability when they helped make misleading claims or played a meaningful role in selling the product.
More than one company can be responsible. A lawsuit may name several defendants when multiple businesses contributed to designing, marketing, distributing, or selling a dangerous product.
What Compensation Is Available in a Kratom Lawsuit?
People seriously injured by kratom and families pursuing wrongful death claims may be able to recover compensation for financial losses and the personal impact of the injury.
Potential damages include:
- Medical Expenses and Future Care: Emergency treatment, hospitalization, diagnostic testing, medications, rehabilitation, addiction treatment, and future healthcare needs.
- Lost Income and Reduced Earning Capacity: Wages already lost and future income the person may no longer be able to earn.
- Pain and Suffering: Physical pain, emotional distress, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life.
- Wrongful Death Damages: Funeral and burial costs, loss of financial support, loss of companionship, and other damages available under state law.
- Punitive Damages: Additional damages may be available in cases involving particularly reckless or intentional conduct.
How Much Is a Kratom Lawsuit Worth?
There is no established average kratom lawsuit settlement amount.
The litigation involves different products, injuries, manufacturers, defendants, and state laws. There is also no nationwide settlement program assigning compensation based on standardized injury categories.
Some kratom wrongful death cases have resulted in multimillion-dollar outcomes, including the reported awards of more than $11 million in Florida and $2.5 million in Washington. Those verdicts and judgments show that these cases can have substantial value, but they do not predict what another claim will be worth.
Important factors include the severity of the injury, ability to identify the product, laboratory testing, quality of the warnings, medical and toxicology evidence, other substances involved, extent of dependence, company conduct, and applicable state law.
Are Kratom Lawsuits a Mass Tort or Class Action?
There is currently no federal kratom MDL consolidating all lawsuits.
Most serious injury and wrongful death cases are proceeding as individual claims in state or federal court.
A mass tort allows many people with similar claims to coordinate parts of the litigation while maintaining individual cases. A class action generally treats a group of consumers as one class and is more commonly used for shared economic losses, such as refund claims.
Kratom litigation could eventually become coordinated if enough similar lawsuits are filed against the same manufacturers or involving the same products. A future MDL could focus on a specific company, concentrated extract, wellness drink, or 7-OH formulation.
Consumers should not wait for an MDL before investigating a claim. Filing deadlines still apply, and important evidence can disappear over time.
How Long Do You Have to File a Kratom Lawsuit?
Every state limits how long you have to file a product liability or wrongful death lawsuit.
The deadline may depend on when the injury occurred, when you discovered kratom may have caused it, where the product was purchased or used, and which state’s law applies. Some states also impose statutes of repose that can bar claims after a fixed period of time.
Do not assume you waited too long without speaking with an attorney. Dolman Law Group can review the facts and determine whether you may still have time to file.
What Should You Do If You Were Injured by Kratom?
The steps you take after a serious kratom-related injury may affect both your medical recovery and your ability to pursue a product liability claim.
- Seek Medical Care: Call 911 or obtain emergency treatment for difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, seizures, severe confusion, or other serious symptoms.
- Preserve the Product and Packaging: Keep any remaining powder, capsules, liquid, extracts, gummies, 7-OH products, bottles, bags, labels, and lot numbers. Do not return them to the manufacturer or seller.
- Take Photographs: Photograph the product, packaging, labels, lot numbers, receipts, and anything else that may help identify what you used.
- Save Purchase Records: Preserve receipts, bank and credit card statements, online orders, emails, and loyalty account information.
- Write Down What Happened: Record the products used, where they were purchased, how much you took, when symptoms began, and what treatment you received.
- Speak With a Kratom Lawsuit Lawyer: An attorney can help preserve evidence, identify the responsible companies, obtain medical and toxicology records, and determine the filing deadline.
You do not need every record or receipt before contacting Dolman Law Group.
How Dolman Law Group Can Help With a Kratom Lawsuit
Kratom lawsuits can be difficult to prove. Manufacturers and sellers may argue that the product did not cause the injury, that another substance was responsible, that the consumer misused the product, or that the scientific evidence is insufficient.
Dolman Law Group can investigate what happened and build the evidence needed to pursue the responsible companies.
Identify the Product and Defendants
Our attorneys can use purchase histories, online orders, financial records, photographs, medical records, witness statements, and retailer information to help identify the product and trace the companies involved.
Preserve and Develop the Evidence
We can help preserve physical products and packaging, obtain medical and toxicology records, investigate marketing materials, and arrange product testing when appropriate.
Work With Experts and Investigate Company Conduct
Kratom cases may require toxicologists, physicians, pharmacologists, laboratories, economists, and other specialists.
Through discovery, our attorneys can also pursue internal communications, product testing, adverse event reports, complaints, marketing strategies, and sales records showing what companies knew about their products.
Pursue a Fair Settlement or Prepare for Trial
We evaluate medical expenses, future treatment, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, wrongful death damages, and other losses.
We then negotiate with the defendants and prepare the case for trial when a fair resolution cannot be reached.
Why Choose Dolman Law Group to Handle Your Kratom Lawsuit?
- More Than $700 Million Recovered: Our attorneys have recovered more than $700 million in settlements and verdicts for injured clients and families.
- Experience With Complex Product Liability Claims: We handle dangerous drug, defective product, toxic exposure, personal injury, wrongful death, and mass tort cases that require extensive medical and scientific evidence.
- Nationwide Representation: Dolman Law Group investigates qualifying claims throughout the United States through our attorneys and national co-counsel relationships.
- Access to Qualified Experts and Resources: We can work with medical professionals, toxicologists, pharmacologists, laboratories, economists, and other specialists and have the resources needed to pursue well-funded companies.
- Prepared to Take Cases to Trial: We develop cases with the understanding that defendants may refuse to offer fair compensation unless they face a credible threat of trial.
- No Upfront Attorney Fees: We handle qualifying kratom lawsuits on a contingency-fee basis. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
- Led by an Experienced, Respected Trial Attorney: Matthew Dolman is a nationally recognized personal injury and civil trial attorney with more than two decades of experience representing injured clients and families. As the founder of Dolman Law Group, Matthew has helped build a national practice handling complex personal injury, product liability, mass tort, and wrongful death litigation. The firm has recovered more than $700 million for clients.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kratom Lawsuits
Can I Sue a Kratom Company?
You may be able to sue a manufacturer, distributor, or seller if you suffered a serious injury or lost a loved one because of a dangerous kratom product, inadequate warnings, or other wrongful conduct.
Can I File a Kratom Overdose Lawsuit?
Yes. People who survive serious kratom overdoses may have claims depending on the product used, warnings provided, medical evidence, and circumstances of the overdose.
Can I Sue If My Family Member Died After Using Kratom?
Eligible family members or an estate representative may be able to file a kratom wrongful death lawsuit when kratom caused or contributed to a loved one’s death.
Can I File a Kratom Addiction Lawsuit?
People who developed severe dependence, required addiction treatment, suffered significant withdrawal, or experienced other substantial damages may have potential claims.
Can I File a 7-OH Lawsuit?
People seriously injured by concentrated 7-OH products and families who lost loved ones may have potential claims against manufacturers, distributors, and sellers.
Is Kratom Legal or Banned in the United States?
Kratom is not federally prohibited, but state and local laws vary, and some jurisdictions ban or restrict kratom and certain kratom-derived products.
Is Kratom Approved by the FDA?
No. The FDA has not approved kratom to treat pain, opioid withdrawal, addiction, anxiety, depression, or any other medical condition.
Is There a Kratom Class Action Lawsuit or MDL?
Some kratom-related class actions have been filed, but there is currently no federal MDL consolidating all kratom lawsuits, and serious injury and wrongful death claims are generally pursued individually.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Kratom Lawsuit Lawyer?
Dolman Law Group handles qualifying claims on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you pay no upfront attorney fees and owe no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Speak With a Kratom Lawsuit Lawyer About Your Legal Options
If you suffered a serious injury, developed severe dependence, survived an overdose, or lost a loved one after using a kratom or concentrated 7-OH product, you may have grounds to pursue a product liability claim. Dolman Law Group can evaluate your case, investigate the facts, and determine whether you may be eligible to seek compensation.
You do not need to know the manufacturer or have every receipt, medical record, or piece of product packaging before contacting us. An attorney can help determine what evidence may be available and whether you have a viable claim.
Call Dolman Law Group at 727-451-6900 or complete our online contact form to schedule a free case review. We represent qualifying clients nationwide, and you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Call Dolman Law Group at or complete today to learn whether you may qualify to file a kratom lawsuit.
We represent qualifying clients nationwide; there are no upfront attorney fees, and you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Sources
https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-fda-support-dea-7-oh-scheduling.html
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR26-016.aspx
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/75/wr/pdfs/mm7511a1-H.pdf
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12671409
https://ihpi.umich.edu/news-events/news/national-study-finds-kratom-use-rising
