A maker of cannabis and herb supplements in Adams County recently settled one lawsuit and faces other claims after some people who took its marijuana-infused sleep aids said they developed sudden liver problems. Bailey Pate, a 36-year-old resident of the Denver area, sued Sima Sciences and Nuka Enterprises, both based in Henderson. She alleged that their “Midnight” sleep aid drops caused liver damage after she used them for about 16 months in 2020 and 2021.

She settled with the companies this week for an undisclosed amount.

Laura Browne, an attorney who represented Pate, said thousands of people in Colorado and a handful of other states may have claims, either for injuries they suffered or for the money they spent on a potentially unsafe product.

The drops, sold under the 1906 brand name, included cannabis and corydalis, a traditional Chinese herbal remedy. Corydalis contains tetrahydropalmatine, or THP, a chemical that can cause liver damage at high doses. The manufacturers recalled the products earlier this year. Peter Barsoom, the CEO of Nuka Enterprises, told The Denver Post in a statement Wednesday that the company “received a small number of reports from customers” who experienced a rare side effect — elevated liver enzymes — from the drops in their latest formulation.

Evan Hoffman, a Denver lawyer, said he represents about 30 people who developed liver problems after using the drops. About half of his clients were hospitalized, usually between two and eight days, after developing jaundice, nausea and unexplained fatigue, he said.

His clients are in settlement talks with the company, and some others have reached their own settlements, Hoffman said. He estimated two to four people still reach out to him in a typical week as they realize what could have caused their sudden liver problems, he said.

“People are still just now putting the pieces together,” he said.

Hoffman said his clients are not only upset about the unknown health consequences of their liver damage but angry that the company seemed to know it was a possibility and didn’t warn them.

“They didn’t do anything about it because it was their best-selling product,” he said.