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A New Jersey couple, Jill and Michael Katz, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Panera Bread, alleging that their daughter’s death was caused by consuming a highly caffeinated energy drink from the restaurant chain.
Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old student at the University of Pennsylvania, died in early September after suffering cardiac arrest. She had consumed a Panera Charged Lemonade from a store in Philadelphia earlier that day.
Sarah had a known medical condition where high caffeine levels could trigger life-threatening irregular heartbeats. Despite this, she was unaware of the high caffeine content in the lemonade she consumed.
The lawsuit claims that Panera marketed the drink as a plant-based product with a caffeine content equivalent to their dark roast coffee. However, the 30-ounce lemonade allegedly contained caffeine levels higher than those found in popular energy drinks such as Red Bull and Monster.
The Katz family is seeking justice for their daughter’s untimely death, asserting that Panera failed to accurately disclose the caffeine content of their Charged Lemonade.