Lawsuits Filed Following Hydroxycut Recall

Dallas, TXLawsuits are now being filed against Iovate Health Sciences Inc., alleging the company's Hydroxycut diet supplements are responsible for making consumers ill. Specifically, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a Hydroxycut recall after the dietary supplements were linked to 23 reports of serious health problems. Those problems varied from jaundice to liver damage. At least 1 death has been linked to Hydroxycut products.

Following the Hydroxycut recall, and a May warning from the FDA for consumers to stop using certain Hydroxycut products, consumers are investigating possible lawsuits against the maker of the products. According to a southeast Texas news report (kdfm.com, July 10, 2009), 2 people from that area have hired an attorney, saying they suffered adverse reactions to Hydroxycut.

Patients have written to lawyersandsettlements.com to express their concern that Hydroxycut could have caused their liver problems.

Sarah P. (not her real name) says she was hospitalized for 5 days in 2002, and registered high liver enzyme levels, indicating liver damage. "At the time, my primary [doctor] and surgeon both attributed the damage to the Hydroxycut that I was taking, but had no proof. It is noted several times in my medical records that they believed the Hydroxycut usage to be the cause. I was subjected to a hospital stay, many blood tests, MRI, CT scans and more."

Other patients say they are suffering from abdominal pain and dark urine but are not sure if they have been affected by Hydroxycut use. Some report that they did not think Hydroxycut could cause any permanent damage because it is a dietary supplement and they did not believe it contained any harmful products.

However, dietary supplements are not tested by the FDA so the claims their manufacturers make in marketing the products may not actually be verified. Furthermore, a lack of pre-market testing means that potential side effects might not be discovered until after those products hit store shelves. Finally, because many people do not link their health problems with dietary supplements, the FDA may not receive many reports of adverse reactions to the supplements, meaning that the products stay on store shelves even after consumers suffer serious reactions to them.