A dispenser of Charged Lemondade, a caffeinated lemonade drink, at Panera Bread in Walnut Creek, California, March 27, 2023.
Smith Collection | Gado | getty images
Panera Bread has settled in with the family of an Ivy League student with heart disease who died after drinking the chain’s high-caffeine Charged Lemonade beverage.
Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student who suffers from a heart condition called long QT syndrome type 1, avoided energy drinks on her doctor’s advice, according to a lawsuit filed last year in Philadelphia.
The lawsuit says Katz purchased Charged Lemonade from a Panera restaurant in September 2022. He is her roommate and close friend. told NBC News She went into cardiac arrest a few hours later.
The complaint, filed on behalf of Katz’s parents, was the first of four lawsuits Panera faces over issues with its beverages. A second lawsuit blamed it for the death of a Florida man, while two other lawsuits claimed Charged Lemonade caused permanent heart injuries in previously healthy people.
Panera announced in May that it would stop selling the beverage nationwide.
“The issue is resolved,” Elizabeth Crawford, a partner at the Philadelphia law firm Klein & Spector PC, which represents the plaintiffs in all four lawsuits, told NBC News on Monday morning in her first interview since the settlement. No other details were allowed to be shared.
Panera did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the development. Upon hearing the news of Katz’s death, the company said, “We are deeply saddened to hear of the tragic passing of Sarah Katz,” and added, “We will thoroughly investigate this matter.”
Panera Bread Co. restaurant in the borough of Queens, New York, USA, on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
Binggwan | Bloomberg | getty images
Despite the lawsuit calling Charged Lemonade a “dangerous energy drink,” Panera said: decision to stop The drink was part of a “recent menu transformation.”
The wrongful death lawsuit filed after Katz’s death claimed that Charged Lemonade was “served alongside all of Panera’s non-caffeinated and/or low-caffeine beverages” and was advertised as a “plant-based, clean” beverage. It had as much caffeine as the restaurant’s dark roast coffee. According to the complaint, Charged Lemonade also contained guarana extract, another stimulant, and the equivalent of 30 full teaspoons of sugar.
Since the lawsuit over Katz’s death, Panera has made several changes, including moving Charged Lemonade behind the counter so it is no longer self-serve and updating it. Nutrition information It reflects how much caffeine is in the drink when served with ice. There’s also a prominently added warning label stating that Charging Lemonade contains caffeine, should be consumed in moderation, and is not recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine, or pregnant or lactating women.
Katz’s case was scheduled to go to trial this month, with jury selection scheduled for later this week.
