Personal Injury & Accident Lawyer Blog

We’ve posted recently about how 14 individual products within the Hydroxycut line were recalled due to their link with serious side effects that involved damage to consumers’ kidneys and livers.  Several people suffered damage to their organs that was irreversible in nature, and one 19-year-old man died after using Hydroxycut products.  As a result of these reports, the makers of Hydroxycut initiated a recall of these products in conjunction with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It seems that one of the common and relevant questions that’s being asked is how these products ever made it to the market without having to be approved by the FDA in the first place, as this is the agency that’s charged with protecting consumers from such dangers.  While it’s a valid question, there’s a simple, and somewhat troubling, response - Hydroxycut slipped through a legal loophole.

That loophole deals with the type of products that exist within Hydroxycut’s overall line.  If these products were classified as medications or prescription drugs, they would have had to go through the same approval process with the FDA that’s required for any medication that’s currently on the market.  There are specific steps that need to be taken that include completing and reporting clinical trials, and if all goes well the FDA will allow the sale of these products.

However, Hydroxycut is not classified as a drug or a medication.  Instead, it’s classified as a supplement, and supplements do not require FDA approval before hitting the market on a retail basis.  Therefore, no studies needed to be done, no trials needed to be published and no regulation was required beforehand.  Instead, the FDA is limited to a reactionary role in this situation, and can only get involved after reports of side effects and injuries surface.

Should the FDA have approval power over supplements?  That’s a legitimate question.  Regardless of the answer, if you have been injured as a result of using Hydroxycut, you still have legal rights and options regardless of the classification of these products.  Contact the defective products lawyers at the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.