We are experts on dietary supplement litigation
Why are dietary supplements so dangerous?
Dietary supplements are not properly regulated. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (“DSHEA”) has allowed and continues to allow companies to put highly dangerous products on the market. DSHEA defines dietary supplement as “a product (other than tobacco) intended to supplement diet that bears or contains one or more of the following ingredients: a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or botanical, or an amino acid or dietary substance (such as enzymes or probiotics). Such products are supposed to be designated on the label as a dietary supplement. The FDA does not approve dietary supplements for safety or effectiveness before they are sold. The law stated that if a dietary supplement proved to be a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury to the public, it would be taken off the market. This turned out to be a lie.
The alleged dietary supplement Ephedra was unwisely placed on the market for years, racking up numerous deaths and injuries until Ephedra was finally taken off the market in 2004. When Ephedra was heavily marketed after DSHEA was passed, the dietary supplement companies knew that Ephedra had significant risks of severe cardiovascular and neurological events. Even at low doses, Ephedra can cause high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, seizures, psychosis, and sudden death. John Tiedt, the partner who manages dietary supplement litigation, took his first Ephedra litigation case in 1999, and he was shocked that such a dangerous product was allowed to be sold without any testing for safety or efficacy. Even after thousands of reported adverse events it took too long to take this dangerous product off the market.
DSHEA doesn’t require dietary supplement companies to be responsible
Dietary supplement companies typically do not conduct proper studies or testing to determine the safety or efficacy of their product. In fact, some dietary supplement companies put known inherently dangerous ingredients on the market. A great example of this were the dietary supplement products that contained senna, Black Cohash, Cascara Sagrada, Comfrey, Ephedra and Yohimbe.
Currently, dietary supplement companies are still making the mistake of using known dangerous ingredients. All dietary supplement companies should carefully test their products to ensure that their product is both safe for consumption as directed by the label instructions and that the product actually works as represented. For example, nobody should take a product that is represented to promote liver health only to discover that the product they took caused liver failure because the dietary supplement company did not properly research or test the toxic ingredients of their product.
Dietary supplement companies are currently selling adulterated and misbranded products.
Currently quite a few companies are selling misbranded and adulterated dietary supplements by adding drugs into the products but declaring that fact on the label. You can be taking a dietary supplement product that you think is natural, but the supplement actually contains a drug such as a blood thinner or steroid. My first encounter with such a problem occurred in a case involving PC-SPES. PC-SPES was a product declared to be a “dietary supplement” that was designed to help prostate health, but instead, it contained a synthetic estrogen, Diethylstilbestrol, the blood thinner Warfarin, and the anti-anxiety drug Alprazolam (Xanax). Selling adulterated dietary supplement products that contain synthetic drugs has become prevalent.
Currently, my office is handling several misbranded and adulterated dietary supplements. Below are a few examples.
Case # 1.
A dietary supplement Company sold a variety of workout supplements that were misbranded and adulterated. Customers were advised that the product would help with muscle growth and recovery from workouts. In reality, the product actually included an undisclosed drug: testosterone. The United States Department of Justice filed a criminal action against the owners of the Dietary Supplement Company. Our expert who is both a physician and pharmacologist found testosterone in the dietary supplement pills and opined that the damages sustained by my client were caused by the subject product.
Case #2.
My client purchased dietary supplement that was allegedly designed to reduce joint pain. My client used the product which appeared to work. However, over time she experienced weight gain, facial puffiness, abdominal distension and other symptoms, but none of the listed ingredients in dietary supplement products were known to cause such problems. As the months passed, my client’s condition deteriorated in that she developed oral thrush, rash, recurrent infections, sweating and fatigue. Again, she did not suspect a natural dietary supplement could cause her symptoms, and it assumed her symptoms might have been as a result of other factors.
On July 16, 2024, Amazon issued a product safety alert instructing consumers of the dietary supplement product not to consume said product. Our client later learned that the product contained the synthetic drugs dexamethasone (a powerful steroid) diclofenac, and omeprazole. Unfortunately, she did not learn that the product was adulterated until well after she stopped using the product. Unfortunately, she suffered great side effects requiring medical treatment from sudden termination of her use of a product that contained the drug Dexymethasone. Dexamethasone is a potent corticosteroid that often causes common side effects such as increased appetite, insomnia, indigestion, weight gain, fluid retention, mood changes (anxiety, irritability) and other problems. Abruptly stopping the medication can cause dangerous withdrawal symptoms.
Case # 3.
In this case, our client consumed a product that was only supposed to be a natural vitamin supplement. The vitamin was branded as “D3+ K2,” which meant it would only contain vitamin D3 and vitamin K2. Unfortunately, according to the client’s physician, the product contained vitamin K3, which is a synthetic drug known as Menadione, which is dangerous. Unlike natural vitamins K1 and K2, K3 is generally considered too toxic for human supplementation. After taking D3 + K2, my client experienced shortness of breath, bleeding in urine, chest pains, and other symptoms that required medical treatment.
Dietary supplements also cause psychological harm.
Most people assume that dietary supplements only cause physical injuries such as liver or kidney failure, heart attacks, strokes and sudden death. We’ve encountered several products that have triggered manic and psychotic episodes. Several of our clients have had a family history of bipolar disease and other psychiatric conditions, leaving them vulnerable to certain dietary supplements that can cause mania and a psychotic break.
If you have taken a dietary supplement and you are experiencing mania, harmful thoughts, disconnection from reality, or hallucinations, contact your medical health care provider immediately. The dietary products you consumed may contain dangerous ingredients that produce psychological harm. Ingredients that are known to cause psychological harm include but is not limited to St.John’s Wort, Yohimbine, Valarian, and Ephedra. Again, a lot of products do not list all of the ingredients so psychological harm may be caused by an undeclared ingredient. We recently filed a case wherein our client had a family history of bipolar disease, and he took a product that unknown to him contained a drug that caused very harmful psychiatric symptoms. We have had several cases resulting in settlement wherein a dietary supplement caused psychological harm.
What can you do if you had an adverse reaction to a dietary supplement?
If you’ve taken a dietary supplement and have experienced a severe adverse reaction, you must first get immediate medical treatment. Thereafter, immediately call an attorney experienced in dietary supplement litigation. Your attorney should ensure that all evidence is properly and safely preserved. Do not throw the dietary supplement product away as the pills or tablets must be tested. Keep all your receipts, and any marketing information you received or viewed. Dietary supplements have caused death, and, in those cases, it is extremely important to immediately call your attorney to ensure that there is an immediate autopsy by a qualified and experienced coroner.
Concurrently with contacting a lawyer you must also immediately go to the FDA website and report your injury as a dietary supplement adverse event. To report a dietary supplement adverse event to the FDA, go to:
https://www.safetyreporting.hhs.gov/SRP2/en/Home.aspx?sid=a43b33ab-5557-46d7-b355-43b5a8024b3a
To be clear, an “adverse event” is any health-related event associated with the use of a dietary supplement that is harmful. Meaning you experienced life-threatening experience, in-patient hospitalization, persistent or significant disability or incapacity, or medical anomaly. It is very important for the FDA to get your information as they may then choose to investigate the companies the manufactured and sold the dietary product to you. The FDA investigation may produce evidence that will help your case.
Tiedt & Ferris has the experience to represent you in a complex dietary supplement litigation.
Since 1999, John Tiedt has filed numerous dietary supplement product liability cases across the United States. In fact, Mr. Tiedt has filed cases against the many dietary supplement companies including but not limited to: Nature’s Made, Metabolife, Cytodyne Technologies, Twin Labs, NVE Pharmaceuticals, Paradigm Peptides, PC-SPES, UMary, MASS Quantities, Chatham Inc., MuscleTech, Herbal Alternatives, and Weight Loss Forever.
Tiedt & Ferris not only sues the manufacturer and formulator of the dietary supplement products, but we also pursue claims against the suppliers, wholesalers and retailers. Mr. Tiedt was one of the first attorneys to get a product liability verdict against a retailer of dietary supplements in Hagen v. Fox Nutrition that resulted in a jury verdict of 4.2 million dollars.
Tiedt & Ferris will evaluate your case and have the products tested in a reputable laboratory to determine if your product was misbranded or adulterated. We can also conduct testing to reveal the actual amounts of key ingredients of the dietary supplement capsules and tablets. We are familiar with the manufacturing process of dietary supplements. Commonly, we find that the products are not mixed well, resulting in an inordinate amount of one particular ingredient in a particular tablet or capsule thus making the product dangerous.
The labels of the dietary supplement products are commonly deficient in both instructions and with respect to warnings. We retain experts to evaluate the sufficiency of the labels. We also carefully evaluate the advertisements and promotions of dietary supplements which often contain fraudulent representations and misleading information.
Tiedt & Ferris retain competent experts to determine if the dietary supplement was in fact a cause of your injury. Mr. Tiedt was an experienced medical malpractice lawyer before becoming a dietary supplement litigator. He is very familiar with complicated diagnoses and medical causation issues. Mr. Tiedt works with excellent physician experts as well as the treating physicians of the client to ensure that the clients injuries are properly explained to the court and the jury.
Although John Tiedt is licensed to practice in California, courts have recognized his expertise and experience with respect to dietary supplements. Thus, several courts in different states have granted pro hac vice status so that Mr. Tiedt can represent clients in states other than California. In such cases, Mr. Tiedt retains local counsel, that specializes in product liability law to ensure that the client is properly represented.
An Invitation to Lawyers
Mr. Tiedt has been hired by law firms to assist in litigating against dietary supplement companies. Mr. Tiedt has developed very successful relationships with several law firms around the county. Tiedt & Ferris will be happy to provide references.
A strong longtime opponent of DSHEA.
John Tiedt has been an opponent of DSHEA since 1999. He has provided interviews on national and local television news stations about the harm that can be caused by dietary supplements. Mr. Tiedt has debated advocates for DSHEA. Mr. Tiedt has also commented on the more problematic dietary supplements.
Mr. Tiedt is put a team together to overturn DESHEA. As a former member of California’s Health Fraud Task Force, Mr. Tiedt is seeking assistance from his fellow attorneys, friends and the public to overturn DSHEA.
FDA Warnings that you should know
Please be advised the FDA issues warnings about particular dietary supplement products. If you have taken the following dietary supplement products, please consult the FDA website for more information and consider consulting an attorney if you feel you were harmed:
Paradigm Peptides (Undeclared Testosterone)
Umary (Undeclared diclofenac, dexamethasone and omeprazole)
DINA Acido Hialurónico (Undeclared dexamethasone, methocarbamol, meloxicam and phenolphthalein)
Addall XR Shot (Contains 2-amino-6-methylheptane (DMHA) and undeclared 1,4-DMAA)
Addal XL 30 Caps (Contains Phenibut [β-phenyl-GABA)] and undeclared 1,4-DMAA (1,4-dimethylamylamine)
RM Joe (undisclosed dexamethasone phosphate and diclofenac)
Curcuflex (Undeclared dexamethasone and diclofenac)
ULTRA ADVANC3 GOLD (Undeclared dexamethasone, diclofenac and methocarbamol)
Advanced Alkaloids (Product contains 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) in an amount more than the declared value of 7.5 mg/tablet)
ULTRA ADVANC3 GOLD (Undeclared dexamethasone, diclofenac and methocarbamol)
Modern Warrior Ready (Undeclared tianeptine, 1,4-DMAA, and aniracetam).
All products containing Yellow Oleander – the FDA has asked for a recall regarding the following products:
Chupa Panza
Tejocote Root, SDB
New me
Vidaslim
Primor Optimus Weight
ELV control Herbal Supplement
EVA Nutrition Mexican Tejcote root
There are numerous declared dietary supplements that contain sildenafil (Viagra) tadalafil (Cialis) or both:
Gold Lion Aphrodisiac Chocolate Sachet
Ilum Male Sexual Enhancement Chocolate
DTF Sexual Chocolate
LOVION Chocolate with Ginseng for Men
Boner Bears
Green Lumbar
Pink Pussycat Aphrodisiac Chocolate