Panera Bread is once again facing a huge controversy after the family of a 46-year-old man named David Brown hit the company with a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit due to its caffeine-filled lemonade that is believed to have led to his death. This isn’t the first time that one of the biggest fast-casual restaurant chains in the U.S. has faced the same lawsuit after a 21-year-old woman also died after consuming the same drink.
Panera Bread Blamed for the Death of a Florida Man
According to Associate Press News, the victim had high blood pressure and never consumed energy drinks as it could spike blood pressure and heart rate. However, the lawsuit, filed on Monday, December 4, in Superior Court in Delaware, where the company was registered, claimed that the man believed the Panera Charged Lemonade was safe since it wasn’t advertised as an energy drink.
It belonged to the non-caffeinated or less-caffeinated drinks and didn’t have warnings about potentially dangerous effects. Brown had the drink thrice during a visit to the restaurant located in Fleming Island, Florida. The unexpected happened when he suffered cardiac arrest and died a little later while on his way home.
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The lawsuit added that Brown ordered the Panera Charged Lemonade about seven times over two weeks in September and October.
“Defendants knew or should have known that the Panera Charged Lemonade, as designed and formulated, once consumed, could injure children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people sensitive to caffeine by causing catastrophic injuries and/or death,” the lawsuit read.
Who was David Brown?
Aside from having high blood pressure, the lawsuit also claimed that David Brown had deficiency disorder, developmental delays, blurred vision, and mild intellectual disability. He worked at Public Super Markets for 17 years and was a Panera Bread regular, visiting the place to eat after work as frequently as three times a week.
Second lawsuit filed against Panera Bread claims Florida man died from the caffeinated ‘Charged Lemonade’ https://t.co/KfOGzcvyUS pic.twitter.com/PBUSlREHlo
— New York Post (@nypost) December 5, 2023
Knowing his condition, he believed Panera Bread was advertised as healthy compared to other restaurants.
Panera Bread’s First Wrongful Death Lawsuit
This is the second time Panera Bread has faced a wrongful death lawsuit due to its Charged Lemonade. The first victim was the college student Sarah Katz, who also had a heart condition and died after consuming the drink in September 2022.
Katz’s parents sued the company, alleging that its lemonade contained more caffeine than Red Bull and Moster Energy Drink combined. It also revealed that it had no consumer warning.
Just like Brown, Katz thought the drink was just a traditional lemonade and/or electrolytes sports drink with a reasonable amount of caffeine that would be safe for her, not knowing she was already consuming high levels of caffeine. But after taking it on September 10, 2022, she suffered a cardiac arrest that led to her death.
https://twitter.com/LIZDlVE/status/1732276060958687669
Katz avoided energy and heavily caffeinated drinks throughout her life after being diagnosed with a heart condition Long QT Type 1 Syndrome. The lawsuit claimed that these drinks could “adversely affect the heart’s rhythm” in people with the said syndrome.
Panera Bread’s spokesperson reportedly declined to comment whether the company had already reduced the amount of caffeine its Charged Lemonade had.
As both lawsuits claim that Panera doesn’t declare the amount of caffeine its Charged Lemonade contains and even compares it to its dark roast coffee, describing it as plant-based and clean, nobody knows the dangers it brings, especially for people who have heart conditions and are prohibited from taking this kind of drink. With two deaths and charges, it’s the right time for the company to do what’s right or even take off this drink from its menu. Hopefully, there won’t be another death to occur just because a company fails to put a label and add a warning.
