In mid-November, USPlabs LLC was named as a defendant in a second lawsuit linking its OxyElite Pro supplement to an outbreak of hepatitis and liver injuries. According to the November complaint filed in federal district court, Kenneth Waikiki, of Hawaii, needed a liver transplant after taking the OxyElite Pro Super Thermo supplement he purchased from a GNC store in Kailua-Kona, HI.
First OxyElite Pro Lawsuit Filed only 2 Days Earlier
A separate lawsuit citing similar injuries was also filed two days earlier against USPlabs by another injury victim who took OxyElite Pro. In that lawsuit, Everine Van Houten claimed she could not return to work for almost an entire year as a result of her liver injury. Houten allegedly suffered acute hepatitis after purchasing OxyElite Pro, a health supplement marketed as a weight-management product. She then sued the product’s manufacturer, USPlabs LLC, and the retailer GNC Holdings Inc.
The personal injury case is the first of what is likely to be a large number of lawsuits filed against USPlabs, whose supplement has been linked to a hepatitis outbreak in Hawaii. Health officials said the outbreak resulted in one death, required two liver transplants and caused dozens of other illnesses.
According to the lawsuit, Houten purchased OxyElite Pro tablets from a GNC store in February of 2013. She consumed the tablets and then became sick in March exhibiting symptoms including abdominal pain, fatigue, muscle aches and nausea, according to her attorneys.
After being hospitalized in August at the Hilo Medical Center where she was employed as a clerk, Houten was diagnosed with acute hepatitis, according to her lawsuit. Her complaint reads:
“As a result of Plaintiff’s acute hepatitis and relating symptoms and medical care, Plaintiff was unable to work through much of 2013. The Plaintiff continues to undergo testing and medical monitoring of her liver and continues to experience symptoms related to her liver injury.”
Second OxyElite Pro Lawsuit also Cites Liver Injuries
Kenneth Waikiki’s lawsuit also contains complaints of severe liver injury and contends that he never exceeded the recommended dosage of the product. His complaint asserts various claims of negligence, strict product liability and breach of implied warranty, according to his lawyers. Hawaii state and federal officials have linked the weight-management supplement to at least one death, two liver transplants and dozens of other liver injury cases.
The Waikiki complaint names USPlabs and its executives Jonathan Vincent Doyle and Jacob Geissler, as well as GNC Holdings Inc., as defendants. USPlabs and GNC have both declined to comment on the pending lawsuits.
22-year-old Waikiki became ill about one month after first taking OxyElite Pro. Waikiki’s eyes and skin turned yellow from jaundice before he fell into a coma and subsequently received a liver transplant on October 1st, 2013, according to Hawaii News Now.
USPlabs has maintained its products are safe, and the company believes counterfeit versions of the product are potentially being marketed in the US. However, Waikiki’s attorney, Wayne Parsons, said that’s simply not true. Parsons wrote in the complaint:
“There is no evidence that counterfeit OxyElite Pro products exist. Nor has FDA found substantiation for such a claim.”
The FDA continues to investigate along with Hawaii state health officials and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
References:
