Tianeptine Products Face Product Liability And Wrongful Death Lawsuits

The mother of a man who died after consuming a tianeptine product has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against “Neptune’s Fix Elixir”. Tianeptine is an unapproved antidepressant drug sold in convenience stores and gas stations throughout the country. The 32-year-old decedent purchased Neptune’s Fix Elixir from Hometown Market on December 6, 2023, the lawsuit said. Shortly after consuming the product, the decedent suffered a seizure, cerebral anoxia, acute heart failure, and/or cardiac arrhythmia. He ultimately died.

Court documents indicate that the Ocean County Medical Examiner ruled the decedent’s death was caused by the adverse effects of tianeptine with THC.

Tianeptine is listed as a health fraud scam on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website, which notes that companies are making “dangerous and unproven claims that tianeptine can improve brain function and treat anxiety, depression, pain, opioid use, and other conditions. Its effects are said to mimic opioids, which has earned it the nickname “gas station heroin.”

Following the death of the decedent, Neptune Resources, the manufacturer, distributor, and seller of Neptune’s Fix Elixir, voluntarily recalled the product, the lawsuit alleges.

The decedent’s mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Neptune Resources, Super Chill CBD Products, and Hometown Market for strict products liability, negligence, consumer fraud act, recklessness, and wrongful death, the lawsuit said. The plaintiffs are demanding a trial by jury.

Kratom lawsuits 

The tianeptine lawsuits are part of a growing trend to market dangerous drugs as “dietary supplements.” The products are often sold at convenience stores and gas stations, and do not come with warnings concerning their use. This is part of the problem. Those taking the substances don’t exactly know what they’re getting themselves into, and that can lead to situations like the above-mentioned.

The tianeptine lawsuits are not that different from the more popular kratom lawsuits that have sprung up across the country against manufacturers of kratom, a drug that produces an opioid-like high, is very addictive, and can cause overdoses.

According to these lawsuits, more people are experiencing seizures, psychosis, liver damage, and “other adverse events” related to kratom poisoning. This has resulted in expanded litigation against kratom distributors and manufacturers.

On the other side of the aisle, the kratom distributors are blaming the “predatory marketing of trial attorneys” on the surge of kratom-related lawsuits. A spokesperson for the kratom industry believes that kratom is being blamed for too many deaths, and medical examiners are concluding kratom is the culprit in several deaths just because it shows up in the toxicology report.

At present, however, you can file a lawsuit against a kratom distributor and manufacturer if you lost a loved one to kratom addiction.

Talk to a Florida Products Liability Lawyer Today 

Halpern, Santos & Pinkert represent the interests of Florida residents who have been injured by dangerous or defective products. Call our Florida personal injury lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.

Sources:

app.com/story/news/crime/2024/09/13/toms-river-jmatthew-j-cornier-mom-june-suing-after-death-from-drinking-neptunes-fix/75205286007/

supplysidesj.com/herbs-botanicals/kratom-lawsuits-to-increase-in-2025-amid-growing-recognition-of-health-impacts