Panera Bread Settles Lawsuit Over “Charged Lemonade” That Allegedly Caused Heart Attacks

Panera Bread recently settled its first lawsuit related to its “Charged Lemonade” beverages. Several such lawsuits have been filed against the company, including wrongful death lawsuits. According to the lawsuits, Panera failed to warn customers about the caffeine content of its “charged” lemonade. This resulted in several people having heart failure after drinking the lemonade. The lemonade has since been discontinued by Panera. This is the first settlement to come out of several similar lawsuits filed against the eatery.

Other outstanding lawsuits have yet to be settled, but they all essentially make the same allegations against Panera Bread. The lawsuits claim that the caffeine content of the drink was so high that it caused individuals with pre-existing heart conditions to have heart attacks. Panera added a warning label to the drinks but has now removed the lemonade from its stores nationwide. Panera says they removed the lemonade from circulation due to a “menu transformation.”

Analyzing the plaintiff’s lawsuit against Panera Bread 

The settled lawsuit contended that on September 10, 2022, Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student, drank the Charged Lemonade at a local Panera restaurant. The decedent had been diagnosed at a young age with a heart condition called QT syndrome type 1. As a result, the decedent avoided energy drinks, according to the wrongful death lawsuit filed by her family.

As an avid Gatorade drinker, the family believes that she saw the “charged” in “Charged Lemonade” as referring to electrolytes, which is similar to how Gatorade markets its products. There was no indication that the drink had a high caffeine content when she purchased it. Hours after drinking the Charged Lemonade, the decedent collapsed and fell into cardiac arrest. She was transported to a nearby hospital, where she had a second heart attack and later died.

The family of Sarah Katz filed a lawsuit against Panera Bread on October 23, 2023. According to the lawsuit, the decedent went into cardiac arrest as a direct result of consuming the Charged Lemonade. Court documents indicate a large Charged Lemonade had 390 mg of caffeine in it, which is far more than what is found in common energy drinks like Monster and Red Bull. Nonetheless, Panera advertised the drink as having the same amount of caffeine as a “dark roast coffee.”

Failure to warn 

Several other plaintiffs have suffered cardiac events after consuming Panera’s lemonade. They make nearly identical allegations as the Katz family against the restaurant. Essentially, they blame the restaurant for failing to warn potential customers about the caffeine content of the drink. In fact, they directly lied to customers by claiming it had roughly the same caffeine content as a dark roast coffee. Panera had a duty to warn customers about the caffeine content of its drink. Its failure to do so resulted in the deaths and injuries of several people.

Talk to a Florida Product Liability Lawyer Today 

Halpern, Santos & Pinkert represent the interests of plaintiffs in product liability lawsuits filed against negligent companies. Call our Florida personal injury lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your claims right away.

Source:

usatoday.com/story/money/2024/10/07/panera-bread-charged-lemonade-lawsuit-settlement/75554140007/