A 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student with a heart condition died after reportedly drinking Panera Bread's new “charged lemonade” drink.
A large cup contains more caffeine than cans of Red Bull and Monster Energy drinks combined, according to the lawsuit.
The suit was filed on behalf of the New Jersey parents of Sarah Katz.
The legal complaint, which was filed Monday, calls the beverage a “dangerous energy drink" and argues that Panera failed to appropriately warn consumers about its ingredients.
Katz had a heart condition called Long QT Syndrome Type 1 and avoided energy drinks at the recommendation of her doctors, according to the filing.
According to the suit, Katz purchased a “charged lemonade” from a Panera Bread in Philadelphia in September.
She went into cardiac arrest hours later.
An attorney for the family says, "had this drink been advertised as an energy drink, Sarah would have avoided it - and avoided her death."
In a statement, a Panera spokesperson said, “we were very saddened to learn this morning about the tragic passing of Sarah Katz, and our hearts go out to her family. At Panera, we strongly believe in transparency around our ingredients. We will work quickly to thoroughly investigate this matter."
"The idea here is if we bring this to the public's attention, this won't happen to someone else. It becomes something different; it becomes a dangerous, toxic energy drink and that's really what the issue is,” the family’s attorney added.
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