Panera Bread appears to have sunken deeper into hot water as a new lawsuit filed on Nov. 4 alleges that the company is responsible for a second death caused by its highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade.
The wrongful death lawsuit alleges that a man named Dennis Brown, who was 46 at the time, died of cardiac arrest on Oct. 9 shortly after drinking three Charged Lemonades from a local Panera.
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The suit details that he had been drinking the lemonade for six days straight. It also reveals that Brown had always lived with "a chromosomal deficiency disorder, developmental delay, and ADHD" and suffered from high blood pressure and "did not consume energy drinks."
The lawsuit claims that Panera's Charged Lemonade "is an unregulated beverage which includes no warning of any potentially dangerous effects, even the life-threatening effects on blood pressure, heart rate, and/or brain function."
“Panera expresses our deep sympathy for Mr. Brown’s family,” said Panera Bread in a statement to TheStreet. “Based on our investigation, we believe that his unfortunate passing was not caused by one of the company’s products. We view this lawsuit, which was filed by the same law firm as a previous claim, to be equally without merit. Panera stands firmly with the safety of our products.”
The new court filing comes after a lawsuit filed in October against Panera over another death associated with its Charged Lemonade. That suit alleges that 21-year old Sarah Katz, an Ivy League student, also died from cardiac arrest in September last year after drinking a 30 fluid ounce Charged Lemonade from a local Panera.
The lawsuit also states that she a had an illness called QT Type 1 Syndrome that she was diagnosed with at the age of 5 which contributed to her death.
Shortly after the lawsuit in October was filed, Panera rolled out a warning label in stores and online telling customers that the lemonade is not recommended for “children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women,” and to “use in moderation.”
Panera’s website advertises the drink as “plant-based” and states that it “has about as much CAFFEINE as our Dark Roast Coffee.”
The website reveals that caffeine levels in the Dark Roast coffee range from 161 mg to 268 mg, depending on the size. That range is less than the amount of caffeine in the Charged Lemonade, which contains about 260 mg in its smallest size and 390 mg in its largest, according to its website.
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