Family claims 21-year-old died after drinking caffeinated lemonade at Panera, files lawsuit

PHILADELPHIA — The parents of a 21-year-old college student who died after drinking a caffeinated lemonade at Panera Bread have filed a lawsuit against the company.

Sarah Katz, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, died in Sept. 2022 after she drank a “Panera Charged Lemonade” at a Philadelphia store, according to the lawsuit

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The drink has gone viral on social media due to its high levels of caffeine. According to the lawsuit, Charged Lemonade has anywhere from 260 to 390 milligrams of caffeine, exceeding the combined caffeine content of Red Bull (114 milligrams) and Monster Energy Drink (160 milligrams).

Katz had a pre-existing heart condition called Long QT Type 1 Syndrome, which she was diagnosed with at age 5. People with the condition can experience life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms after very intense physical exercise.

The condition is manageable, but doctors recommend that people with Long QT avoid high levels of caffeine and energy drinks, which Katz did according to the lawsuit

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“In addition to taking daily medication and following all medical advice, Decedent effectively managed her condition by abstaining from energy drinks and highly caffeinated beverages,” the lawsuit says

Lawyers for the family argue that Katz didn’t know the drink was caffeinated and said the drink was offered side-by-side with all of Panera’s non-caffeinated drinks. The drink was not advertised as an “energy drink,” according to the lawsuit.

“These unregulated beverages include no warning of any potentially dangerous effects, even the life-threatening effects on blood pressure, heart rate, and/or brain function,” lawyers argued. “These unregulated beverages contain no advertisement as an “energy” drink and, instead, represent them as “clean” and akin to Panera Dark Roast coffee, when they contain not only caffeine, but also the stimulant guarana and exorbitant amounts of sugar.”

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According to the lawsuit, Charged Lemonade is advertised as plant-based and “clean,” with only the amount of caffeine as there is in Panera’s dark-roast coffee.

“Accordingly, Decedent consumed the Panera Charged Lemonade, reasonably confident it was a traditional lemonade and/or electrolyte sports drink containing a reasonable amount of caffeine safe for her to drink,” lawyers wrote in the suit.

Lawyers for the family say Katz died after suffering from two cardiac arrests after she came home from the restaurant.

According to the lawsuit, Katz died directly as a result of drinking Charged Lemonade.

The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that the drink’s packaging makes it unclear that the beverage is highly caffeinated and that the drink actually has way more caffeine than the dark-roast coffee, as it is advertised.

“Before and during the marketing and sale of the Panera Charged Lemonade, Defendants knew or should have known that the defective and unreasonably dangerous design of Panera Charged Lemonade could cause catastrophic injuries, including, inter alia, heart arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, and/or death,” lawyers wrote.

Panera issued a statement about the lawsuit Monday, saying:

“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.”

Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michelle Newell was at a Panera Monday, where customers said the restaurant should have posted warnings about the drink.

“You have to post that, you know, ‘not recommended you drink this if you have a particular health challenge,’” one customer said.

Katz was studying international relations and health and societies and worked as a research assistant at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She also served as an ambassador with the American Heart Association and taught CPR in high schools. She’d recently been awarded a full-merit scholarship to study Mandarin at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

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