As scientific researchers uncover startling new details about the serious health risks linked to the artificial sweetener erythritol, consumers who have suffered strokes and heart attacks are exploring their legal options. Your family may be entitled to financial compensation.
The law firm of Console & Associates, P.C. is seeking to interview stroke and heart attack victims and their families about potential erythritol lawsuits. It costs nothing to have your case evaluated and nothing upfront to move forward with an artificial sweetener erythritol lawsuit.
For a free, confidential consultation, call (866) 778-5500 today or complete our online form.
Artificial sweeteners that include erythritol have become widely used due to their ability to make food and beverages taste sweet with fewer calories than real sugar. However, a new study by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic bolsters critics’ concerns over the potential health risks of this artificial sweetener.
Among the health risks this research has identified as linked to the consumption of erythritol are conditions as serious as heart attacks and strokes—which can be life-changing and life-threatening.
Given the severity of these health risks, it’s no wonder that regular consumers of artificial sweeteners who suffered these and other major health issues are now considering moving forward with erythritol injury lawsuits.
Erythritol is a type of sugar alternative, or artificial sweetener, that is known as a sugar alcohol. The Cleveland Clinic explains that sugar alcohols contain neither sugar nor alcohol, despite what the name would suggest, and are instead carbohydrates whose chemical structure is similar to that of sugar.
Erhtyritol and other sugar alcohols (like xylitol, sorbitol, and maltitol) are different from other sugar substitutes like aspartame and saccharin. They are less sweet than either sugar or aspartame and, while they contain very few calories, are not zero-calorie ingredients, the Cleveland Clinic reported. Still, sugar alcohols like erythritol have been marketed as a healthier alternative to sugar due to their low calorie count and their ability to sweeten foods without causing sudden spikes in blood sugar.
Erythritol occurs naturally in certain foods, like pears and watermelon, and develops due to the process of fermentation. Commercial production of erythritol is achieved through fermenting a simple sugar called dextrose that is found in corn.
Some popular sugar alternatives contain erythritol—including those that market themselves as being “natural.” Erythritol is an ingredient sometimes found in the following sugar alternatives:
Because the sugar alternative has been widely considered safe for some time, it is often found as an ingredient in products like the following:
In particular, products marketed as being keto-friendly, diabetes-friendly, low-calorie, or zero-sugar are often sweetened with erythritol, either alone or in combination with other sweeteners.
Know your legal options.
After decades of widespread use, the sweetener erythritol has now been found to pose previously unidentified risks.
Dr. Stanley Hazen, a researcher at the Cleveland Clinic, recently led a study funded by the National Institutes of Health to assess the relationship between levels of erythritol in the blood and the risk of cardiovascular events. Hazen and his team published their findings in the journal Nature Medicine on February 27, 2023.
“Erythritol made platelets easier to activate and form a clot” in the blood, the Cleveland Clinic reported. These blood clots can then block the arteries in the body that lead to major organs—like the brain and the heart.
The researchers at the Cleveland Clinic concluded that a link existed between erythritol and an increased risk of “major adverse cardiovascular events.”
More specifically, researchers identified an association between having levels of erythritol in the blood and increases in the risks of the following conditions:
These sorts of major cardiovascular events are emergency situations and can be life-threatening. Even for survivors, it’s possible that life will never be the same after a stroke or heart attack.
Strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots are serious medical emergencies. Since the news of researchers’ latest findings about the link between erythritol and these major health risks broke, many people are exploring their legal options.
They are wondering whether their history of consuming erythritol could be what caused the cardiac event, and if so, how they can hold the makers of erythritol responsible for all the harm they have suffered.
Erythritol lawsuits, like the research into erythritol health risks, are still in the early stages. As more information becomes available, it’s possible that more people will qualify for a claim.
At this time, however, erythritol injury lawsuits that are moving forward involve plaintiffs that meet two main criteria:
A person who consumes erythritol only infrequently is less likely to suffer the sort of “large effect” (in the words of Cleveland Clinic researcher Dr. Hazen) on cardiovascular risks that a regular consumer of the sugar alternative may experience. For this reason, people who are at particularly high risk include those who:
Only in cases involving actual injuries (that is, a stroke, heart attack, or another serious medical event) can a plaintiff sue. At this time, plaintiffs can’t sue for an increase in health risks unless the medical event for which the patient is at increased risk occurs.
The plaintiff in an erythritol sweetener lawsuit may be the heart attack or stroke victim themselves or, in the case of a fatal cardiovascular event, the family of the deceased patient.
In an erythritol injury lawsuit, plaintiffs can seek financial compensation for both economic and non-economic harms and losses, including the following:
When a bereaved family member is the one pursuing the erythritol lawsuit, this legal matter is a wrongful death claim. In addition to the types of damages listed above, the plaintiff may be able to seek compensation for losses such as the loss of the love, support, guidance, and companionship of the deceased person.
Putting together a convincing case that erythritol manufacturers are to blame for your serious cardiovascular event requires professional legal representation.
An experienced attorney can:
If your family is already coping with the aftermath of a serious medical emergency, you may wonder if you can even afford to hire a lawyer and move forward with an erythritol lawsuit claim.
Plaintiffs who qualify for a claim don’t have to worry about whether they can afford to hire an attorney. At the law firm of Console & Associates, we represent all of our clients on a no-win, no-fee basis. You’ll pay nothing for our legal services unless and until we get you compensation, so you have nothing to lose by moving forward with a claim.
The experienced attorneys at Console & Associates, P.C. are now seeking to interview individuals who believe erythritol may have put them at a greater risk of suffering a heart attack, a stroke, or another serious medical event.
Contacting our law firm is the first step to getting the compensation you deserve. Our legal representatives will gather the information needed to begin investigating and answer any questions you have, all at no cost.
The consultation is free and risk-free. To get started, just call (866) 778-5500 or contact us online today.
