Weitz & Luxenberg Files Complaint on Behalf of Soldier Serving in Iraq Injured by Hydroxycut

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. (www.weitzlux.com) would like to inform the public that on November 10, 2009, our firm, together with Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield, LLP filed a complaint in New Jersey Superior Court, Atlantic County in a lawsuit against Iovate Health Sciences, Muscletech Research, and several other defendants on behalf of Jeremiah D. Smith. Jeremiah, an enlisted American soldier, suffered life-threatening liver failure after taking Hydroxycut diet supplements while serving in Iraq. Unaware of the potential dangers, Hydroxycut products have been popular aids among soldiers in the U.S. Armed Forces for staying fit and alert while on duty.

“… the Agency concludes that the ingestion of the dietary supplement Hydroxycut presents a severe potentially life-threatening hazard to some users.”

Ellen Relkin, an attorney in the Weitz & Luxenberg defective medicines and medical devices unit, said, “The makers of Hydroxycut, a ‘dietary supplement’ that is not FDA approved, were well aware that Americans serving in Iraq were using Hydroxycut products as energy boosters and to use with weightlifting workouts. So they were equally aware these soldiers were using this product in the desert in the midst of a war, with limited medical care.

“Equally, if not more disturbing,” said Relkin, “is the fact that the company has allegedly ‘reformulated’ these products, substituting untested and dangerous ingredients with other risky substances for ingestion by our soldiers, teens and others, hawking them aggressively on TV and creating another round of human guinea pigs.”

Gayle M. Blatt, Casey Gerry partner, agrees. “It is a privilege to represent Sergeant Smith and others injured by these over-the-counter products. No one should have to experience the ordeal they have undergone, and we hope to raise awareness of the grave dangers of certain Hydroxycut products, and the responsibility their manufacturer owes to its customers.”

Smith was on active duty as a Marine Corp. serviceman in Iraq when he purchased and ingested Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets at the recommended dose. The complaint, filed in Atlantic County Court House, Atlantic City, NJ (docket # L349909) claims that on September 17, 2007, as a result of ingesting Hydroxycut, Smith began suffering with signs and symptoms of liver failure. He was subsequently hospitalized for several weeks after being medevaced from Iraq, placed on medical leave and was unable to return to active duty for months.

The 9-count complaint alleges the defendants were negligent in warning the public of the dangerous side effects associated with Hydroxycut; that the products were defective and unreasonably dangerous to consumers, and that the defendants failed to provide adequate warnings concerning the potential harms and dangers of Hydroxycut to people ingesting the products.

Smith and hundreds of other servicemen and women would never have taken Hydroxycut had they known of the products’ serious association with liver and cardiac problems and other health risks. On April 30, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to Iovate Health Sciences, Inc., stating in part, “… the Agency concludes that the ingestion of the dietary supplement Hydroxycut presents a severe potentially life-threatening hazard to some users.”

The FDA has received 23 reports of adverse liver effects in users of Hydroxycut products, ranging from asymptomatic blood liver enzyme changes, jaundice, liver damage, liver transplant, and death. In addition, the Agency has said it is aware of four case reports in the medical literature involving six patients who were diagnosed with serious liver disease and who had consumed Hydroxycut.

On May 1, 2009, the FDA announced that consumers should immediately stop using Hydroxycut products. Since then, numerous families have come forward to say loved ones have been harmed by one or more of the products featured in the recall: Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets; Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets; Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets; Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets; Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets; Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets; Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix); Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets; Hydroxycut Liquid Shots; Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink); Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed; Hydroxycut 24; Hydroxycut Carb Control and Hydroxycut Natural.

Consumers who have these products are advised to stop using them and to return them to the place of purchase.

People who have been harmed by Hydroxycut may obtain a free review of their case at www.weitzlux.com

About Weitz & Luxenberg P.C.

Weitz & Luxenberg, founded in 1986, is one of the leading plaintiffs' litigation law firms in America. The firm has played leading roles in national and local litigations involving mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer, as well as defective medicines and medical devices such as shoulder pain pumps, Stryker hip implants, Zimmer Durom Hip implants, Heparin, Advanced Bionics cochlear implants, Hydroxycut, denture cream zinc and Zicam Cold, and general negligence and medical malpractice, among others. A forerunner in the legal fight against polluters, Weitz & Luxenberg has worked with clients harmed by the TVA coal ash sludge spill in Tennessee, industrial de-greasers PCE/TCE in groundwater and indoor air, the gasoline additive MTBE in water supply wells, and PERC/PCE in coal float-sink test operations.