"Cardiac Arrest and Death After Consuming High-Caffeine Drinks"… US Bereaved Families Sue Company

"Failure to Display Caffeine Content and Warning Signs in Stores"

The family of a college student who died after drinking a highly caffeinated beverage at a U.S. cafe chain has filed a lawsuit against the company.

'Charged' Lemonade sold at Panera Bread stores in the United States.
Photo by Panera Bread

According to NBC News and other foreign media on the 23rd (local time), Sarah Katz (21 at the time), who was attending the University of Pennsylvania, purchased and drank a beverage called "Charged Lemonade" at a Panera Bread store in Philadelphia on September 10 last year. However, within a few hours, she went into cardiac arrest.

She was transported to the hospital and received emergency treatment but ultimately passed away. The cause of death was "cardiac arrhythmia due to long QT syndrome."

Long QT syndrome is a rare disease characterized by an unexplained prolongation of the QT interval (the time from the heart's contraction to relaxation) on an electrocardiogram, which carries a risk of sudden death.

Katz was reportedly diagnosed with this syndrome at the age of five.

However, Katz's family filed a lawsuit against Panera Bread, claiming that although caffeine can have fatal effects on people with long QT syndrome and other heart conditions, the company did not inform consumers about the caffeine content of the beverage.

Katz's attorney stated that she had managed the condition well since childhood and that "everything was always normal" until her death.

In particular, Katz had avoided energy drinks based on her doctor's advice and was unaware of the caffeine content in the beverage on the day she died.

The family pointed out that the lemonade Katz drank contained stimulants such as guarana extract and had more caffeine than two cans of energy drinks like Red Bull or Monster Energy, yet there was no information about this inside the store.

Lemonade menu information on the Panera Bread website. It is indicated at the top that it contains an amount of caffeine equivalent to dark roast coffee.
[Photo by Panera Bread website capture]

Panera Bread's website states that the beverage "contains caffeine equivalent to dark roast coffee."

Charles Berul, a physiologist at the Children's National Hospital in Washington, explained, "For people with abnormal heart rhythms, drinking a can of cola or a small cup of coffee daily is generally okay," but added, "some studies suggest that energy drinks containing caffeine and other ingredients like taurine may be more dangerous."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that high amounts of caffeine can pose risks not only to people with heart disease but also to those with other underlying conditions, pregnant women, and children.

Meanwhile, in December last year, a customer posted a video on social media (SNS) about Panera Bread's "Charged Lemonade," saying, "I didn't know this drink contained caffeine," and warning, "Be careful as it contains high caffeine." The video went viral, being shared over 6 million times.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.