Springfield mother sues Kratom companies for son’s overdose death

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - A Springfield mother is on a mission. Deborah Brossett wants to hold several Kratom companies accountable. She says they’re responsible for her 38-year-old son’s overdose death.

“My son did it for several years, 3 or 4 years. Then that one day he just didn’t wake up,” she said.

Three years ago, Brossett found her son, Breck Brossett, unresponsive. She says it was later discovered that Kratom could be the cause.

She said, “I am a registered nurse trying to turn my son over and do CPR on him. It took me 3 times just to dial 911. I was just shaking and couldn’t get the numbers.”

Brossett says her son was a good Christian, never abused drugs or alcohol, and was the person least likely to become an addict.

“He was a very clean eater, you know. He intermittently fasted. He worked out every day from 4:30 to 5:30. He was 5′11, 188 pounds, and about 6 percent body fat,” she explained.

Kratom is an herbal extract of a Southeast Asian Plant. For some, experts say, the substance eases pain and depression, but it can also provide a boost of energy.

In September, Brossett filed a lawsuit to hold several companies accountable for his death. Her attorney, Nick Brand, says he’s currently working on several cases involving Kratom overdoses.

“What we’ve done is allow the natural nature of the original product to overshadow the fact that it’s being manufactured into a deadly product. Through a process, they either increase the potency to varying degrees or they extract the 7-hydroxymitragynine, which is essential matabolized Kratom”, he said.

According to Brand, a high level of the substance was found after a toxicology report during the autopsy stage.

“Breck Brossett was very extreme. He had 3400 nanograms per milliliter of the active substance in his blood. That is extremely high. I can’t remember off the top of my head what the number they believe is typically found in fatalities, but it’s significantly less than that,” explained Brand.

Last week, Missouri’s Attorney General announced she had launched a state-wide investigation targeting 6 companies with a focus on their Kratom products.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway released this statement regarding her efforts:

“We are deeply concerned that Missourians are being sold drug-like substances under the guise of harmless supplements, with no FDA approval, no safety testing, and in some cases no meaningful disclosure of what these products actually contain,” said Attorney General Hanaway. “Companies that mislead consumers or place them at risk will be held accountable.”

Brand said, “Increasing the public’s awareness of the dangers of these products, particularly to get the legislature’s attention, is really important.”

Brossett says elevating awareness and getting lawmakers involved is a way to honor her son’s memory and get the substance outlawed.

“By us doing this and us joining together and being loud, if we save one person, we’re saving a whole family,” she said.

Our calls to the attorneys for the defendants were not returned.

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