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.
