# Family sues Panera Bread over possible death from energy drink-do they have a case? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 28, 2023, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226 "2023-10-28T12:00:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/61 "2023-10-29T07:34:34Z")
The attorney for her family said although Panera has now started putting up a more significant beverage signs, "i consider these are only baby steps."For me I love consistent baby steps in real life-any step I can get is a sight to behold. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/62 "2023-10-29T09:16:38Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > Just had lunch at a Panera this past week, The Charged Lemonade was next to the coffee bar near the store entrance, not with the soda pop and other drinks in the dining area. In the Panera we’ve been to, the charged lemonade coolers have the calorie/caffeine signs on them but are on the side with the soda fountain, with the hot coffee and tea works on the side opposite. Iced coffee is at the main order counter for some reason. For a time in the spring(?) this year they were not there at all with a sign to ask the cashier for charged lemonade, about the time all the hoopla about their caffeine content hit the news. A month or two later they were back with the signs. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/63 "2023-10-29T09:45:56Z")
Yes, it looks like they’re using signs to inform people about the drink, at least for the time being. > **[Panera now displaying warning about its caffeinated lemonade in all stores...](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/panera-adds-warning-caffeinated-lemonade-stores-lawsuit-customers-deat-rcna122628)** > > Sarah Katz, 21, had a heart condition and died hours after she drank Panera’s Charged Lemonade, a large cup of which contains more caffeine than Red Bull and Monster energy drinks combined. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/64 "2023-10-29T11:48:38Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I can tell with the first sip if I’ve been served a regular soft drink instead of diet. They taste very different. I’m very sensitive to caffeine. I can usually tell after about a quarter cup of coffee if they gave me regular instead of decaf. They don’t taste very different, but i start to feel the effects of the caffeine. I can only assume that i am more consciously aware of how that feels than that girl was. Anyway, I’m glad i read this story, because it sounds like one if those charged drinks would throw me for a loop. And while I’m pretty sure I’d recover, I’m happy to know up front to avoid them. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/65 "2023-10-29T17:12:34Z")
Every Panera I have been to (and there are many in my area) has had the sings on the drinks which include the caffeine amount. This has been the case since they were first offered. This weekend though, an additional warning saying that caffeine has negative effects has appeared at the order counter. Also, even prior to this some stores had the drinks behind the counter, possibly because they are more expensive than their regular fountain drinks and did not want people to simply fill up on those after having bought a cheaper drink. I think one of the issues here is that Panera has what they call a sip-club membership where if you pay $11 a month, you can drink all of their self dispensed drinks (soda, lemonade, charged lemonade, tea, coffee). That means that essentially you can walk into the store and order a drink that would normally cost you $4 and pay nothing at the time of the order. This encourages people to come back to Panera and may also encourage people to try a more expensive option (as these are) than if you paid for the drink each time. As the article states, she was a member. I do not know if that was a contributing factor into why she chose those drinks, but I can imagine it was since the choice of drink did not affect the price and it was easy to simply dash in, get a drink and dash out. `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/66 "2023-10-29T17:43:26Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > someone simply made a mistake and served her regular soda - there’s no way to prevent that. Which is why I taste-test my diabetic DH’s beverages any place where it’s NOT a self-serve fountain. Humans are imperfect, this is a given. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/67 "2023-10-29T19:07:29Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > At my local Panera, the “Charged” drinks are between the soda machine and the iced teas/coffee. The are plainly marked “as much caffeine as a coffee.” Extremely easy to misread that as “There is as much caffeine in a 20-30 ounce cup of lemonade as there is in a 6-8 ounce cup of coffee”. Nobody stops to do the math when they grab a drink. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/68 "2023-10-29T19:16:26Z")
This lemonade was discussed in a Food Theory video on YouTube about 9 months ago. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/N4wW85WZMJQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Food Theory: This Lemonade Could Kill You (Panera)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4wW85WZMJQ) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/69 "2023-10-29T20:17:22Z")
That’s interesting. What’s especially interesting is that the FDA has set a recommended daily maximum amount of caffeine, 400mg, and the large drink sneaks in at just under that, 390mg. That’s… almost certainly not a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/70 "2023-10-29T20:26:13Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > 189mg/16 oz coffee > > Charged lemonade > 260mg/20 oz > 390mg/30 oz To continue this excellent comparison below are a few energy drink totals. The highest one is 174 mg. Charged Lemonade’s minimum is 260, which is a perfectly insane amount of caffeine, and really should be labeled as such. Nobody would reasonably have expected it to be that high, even if they were clear it was a caffeinated beverage. [Caffeine Content Energy Drinks](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221686381/figure/tbl1/AS:667175337598978@1536078404651/Caffeine-content-of-some-well-known-energy-drinks-2-3.png) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/71 "2023-10-29T20:33:32Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Which is why I taste-test my diabetic DH’s beverages any place where it’s NOT a self-serve fountain. Humans are imperfect, this is a given. Human error can hook up the wrong canister to a self serve fountain. You’re probably better off to stick with cans or bottles. Much less chance of error at a factory. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/72 "2023-10-29T20:36:36Z")
I’m confused. Is the family suing because Panera did not display how much caffeine was in the lemonade? They did but the cup she had had more caffeine than advertised? They displayed the amount of caffeine but she didn’t understand how much that really was? They displayed the amount of caffeine but they also called it an “energy” drink and her definition of energy drink was different than Panera’s? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/73 "2023-10-29T20:40:19Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > > [@Seanette](#): > > > > Which is why I taste-test my diabetic DH’s beverages any place where it’s NOT a self-serve fountain. Humans are imperfect, this is a given. > > Human error can hook up the wrong canister to a self serve fountain. You’re probably better off to stick with cans or bottles. Much less chance of error at a factory. Given the choice, I prefer bottled or canned beverages. One reason is I find the carbonation more consistent than with fountain drinks. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/74 "2023-10-29T20:40:20Z")
There’s no way to know what she thought. Maybe she talked to her parents about it. But that’s not been said. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/75 "2023-10-29T20:42:35Z")
Mostly, i think they are suing because their daughter is dead, apparently from drinking a Panera product. And they believe the labeling must have been unclear or their daughter wouldn’t have made that mistake. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/76 "2023-10-29T20:44:12Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > To continue this excellent comparison below are a few energy drink totals. The highest one is 174 mg. It’s not uncommon to find 200mg caffeine energy drinks here (for the whole can, not “per serving”), but that’s about as high as I find them. I was a bit surprised when I saw those caffeine numbers upthread for Panera’s charged drinks. That’s A LOT of caffeine. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/77 "2023-10-29T20:45:05Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > a perfectly insane amount of caffeine Agreed, and labeling it “clean and plant-based” rather than “WARNING: THIS WILL FUCK YOU RIGHT UP” is probably not best practice. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/78 "2023-10-29T20:55:16Z")
As a person with a health issue that relies on what I eat/drink or not I question everything I put in my mouth. My dialysis center hands me a canned coke everytime I enter. So many patients blood sugar drop low during the treatment. I don’t have this problem too much. These are professionals, they tell me. I never drink cokes. I don’t even trust diet drinks. In the end it is me who must decide my choices. It behooves me to know how things affect my condition. If I fall short it’s on me. If I believed my dialysis professionals and just downed the coke, who’s fault is that? Mine. Because I know better. I feel bad the young lady died. I feel horrible for her parents. She should’ve known better. If, and I’m not saying I’ve heard or read this, she had another condition, say Downs syndrome or something she shouldn’t have been able to make her own choices without some input from a caring parent or friend. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/79 "2023-10-29T20:58:10Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > That’s interesting. What’s especially interesting is that the FDA has set a recommended daily maximum amount of caffeine, 400mg, and the large drink sneaks in at just under that, 390mg. That’s… almost certainly not a coincidence. > [@TruCelt](#): > > > [@running\_coach](#): > > > > 189mg/16 oz coffee > > > > Charged lemonade > > 260mg/20 oz > > 390mg/30 oz > > To continue this excellent comparison below are a few energy drink totals. The highest one is 174 mg. Charged Lemonade’s minimum is 260, which is a perfectly insane amount of caffeine, and really should be labeled as such. Nobody would reasonably have expected it to be that high, even if they were clear it was a caffeinated beverage. > > [Caffeine Content Energy Drinks](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221686381/figure/tbl1/AS:667175337598978@1536078404651/Caffeine-content-of-some-well-known-energy-drinks-2-3.png) These are the first bits of information that make me think there might actually be something to this lawsuit. Not that it’s necessarily a winner (I wouldn’t know), only that this drink might be genuinely abnormal. Abnormal enough to give rise to liability? Don’t know. But abnormal enough that maybe even the modest warning/notice on caffeine content wouldn’t be enough to put a reasonable person with an unusual health condition on notice that it could be dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226/80 "2023-10-29T21:01:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s A LOT of caffeine. Yes but it’s because it’s in a 20 oz cup. It’s not much more than coffee per oz. And that’s before adding ice so it could be a lot lower. Why someone needs caffeine in Lemonade I don’t know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-sues-panera-bread-over-possible-death-from-energy-drink-do-they-have-a-case/992226.md?page=5)