Krystal Talavera thought she was drinking a healthy supplement to her morning coffee.
But the supplement she was taking, kratom, killed the registered nurse, a mother of four, from respiratory failure brought on by opioid-like effects.
Her death is the latest involving the herbal substance, which is widely sold at gas stations and online despite the FDA warning it can cause liver damage, seizures and even death, and the CDC linking it to more than 100 deaths in just 18 months.
Now relatives of people who have died after taking the drug say they want more government regulation—and for people to be aware how dangerous a widely-marketed herbal product can be.
Talavera’s eldest son Devin Filippelli sued the makers of the supplement found beside her body at the family home in Palm Beach County she shared with her partner and four children.
Talavera, 39, was a nurse who had just been promoted at the hospice care company where she worked.
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