Kratom supplier owes millions to family of South Florida nurse who overdosed and died
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — A federal judge has awarded more than $4.6 million in damages to the family of a South Florida nurse who fatally overdosed on the dietary supplement kratom almost two years ago.
Kratom is touted as a cheap, safe alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals but has been known to cause seizures, respiratory failure and death. Reports of relatives coming home to find their loved ones dead, a cocktail of kratom and coffee in hand, have triggered lawsuits against companies accused of doing little to warn customers about the danger.
Krystal Talavera's family sued the Idaho-based manufacturer that sold her the supplement after her fiancé found her lying face down on the floor of their Boynton Beach, Florida, living room on June 20, 2021. A cup of coffee and an open packet of kratom, the supplement medical examiners would later point to as the 39-year-old woman's cause of death, lay on the ground beside her.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks ordered Grow LLC and its founder, Sean Harder, to pay more than $20,000 for the family's funeral expenses and $4.6 million to cover Talavera's lost income. The attorneys will return to court in June to determine how much the kratom supplier still owes in noneconomic damages, which include harder-to-measure losses such as the suffering of her four children.
Middlebrooks will then enter a summary judgement against Grow LLC and Harder, ending the suit that was slated to go before a jury in July.
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Kratom supplier didn't dispute the allegations, citing finances
Harder told the judge in March he would not try to defend himself against the Talavera family's accusations because he simply couldn't afford to. Attorneys for Talavera's family said the move was in bad faith, designed to keep Harder from handing over the business records that would identify others involved in the chain of command.
Tamara Williams and Michael Cowgill represent Talavera's family and others who blame kratom suppliers for putting profit before the safety of their loved ones. They are based in Sarasota County, where reports of kratom abuse led officials to ban the substance in 2014.
"The industry wants consumers to believe kratom is a safe and natural alternative to opioids and painkillers," Williams said Tuesday. "Our position is that's not exactly true."
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.
The supplement isn't regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, leaving consumers 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.
Friends urged woman to use kratom as dietary supplement
Kratom advocates say the negative press and push to criminalize kratom are fueled more by corporate greed than actual health concerns. It's cheaper and easier to come by than prescription pain medication and has helped some users overcome opioid addictions. Talavera's friends pitched it to her as a dietary supplement.
She didn't know about the health risks associated with kratom, her family said in the lawsuit. 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.
Her sudden death interrupted a period of growth and celebration for her family. Originally from The Bronx, 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.
The infant watched from the living room as his father discovered Talavera's body. 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.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.