Lawsuit asserts The second fatality is related to the Charged Lemonade from Panera Bread

 Lawsuit asserts The second fatality is related to the Charged Lemonade from Panera Bread

Dennis Brown, 46, is accused in the complaint of consuming three highly caffeinated drinks before to going into cardiac arrest in October.

A lawsuit filed on Monday claims that Panera Bread's highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade is now being held responsible for a second fatality.

According to the complaint, on October 9, Dennis Brown, of Fleming Island, Florida, drank three charged lemonades from a nearby Panera and, while driving home, had a fatal cardiac collapse.

Brown, 46, had modest intellectual handicap, developmental delay, and an unidentified chromosomal deficient condition. He lived alone, according to the lawsuit, and often went to Panera after working at the grocery. Given his elevated blood pressure, he refrained from consuming energy drinks.

Less than two months had passed before a different complaint against Panera in relation to Sarah Katz, an Ivy League student with heart illness, was filed on behalf of Brown's mother, sister, and brother. died in September 2022 from a charged lemonade incident. The action, which was originally publicized by NBC News, referred to the beverage as a "dangerous energy drink" and said Panera had neglected to properly alert customers about the stimulant guarana extract among its contents.

The Charged Lemonade from Panera is marketed as "plant-based and clean with as much caffeine as our dark roast coffee." According to the legal concerns, a large, 30-fluid-ounce Charged Lemonade has 390 milligrams of caffeine, which is more than any size of Panera's dark roast coffee. The big cup is said to contain over 30 teaspoons of sugar and more caffeine than regular cans of Red Bull and Monster energy drinks, according to complaints.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, persons in good health may safely ingest up to 400 mg of caffeine daily.

The wrongful death complaint filed on Monday was filed in Delaware, the state where Panera is established, and claims that Brown had been drinking Charged Lemonade in the days before his death.

The drink was accessible at self-service dispensers at the time of Brown's death and was "presented alongside all of the store's non-caffeinated and/or Was "a low-caffeinated beverage," according to the lawsuit. It is unknown how much caffeine and other stimulants were in the drink.

Brown's cause of death was elevated blood pressure, according to the death certificates sent to NBC News by Elizabeth Crawford, a partner at the Philadelphia-based legal firm Cline & Spector, PC, who is also representing Katz's family. The cause of cardiac arrest was disease.

According to Panera, it is dedicated to ensuring the safety of its goods and has sent "our deepest sympathies to Mr. Brown's family".

"Based on our investigation, we're convinced that his unfortunate demise was not brought on by any of the company's products," the statement said. "We believe there is no validity to this action, which was brought by the same legal firm as the prior allegation. Panera is adamant about the security of its goods.

After the first lawsuit, Panera increased the amount of information it disclosed to customers, posted on its website, and in all of its restaurants. It advised customers to drink Charged Lemonade in moderation and advised against giving it to young children, those who are sensitive to caffeine, or women who are nursing or pregnant. Not advised for ladies who have.

Crawford described Brown as his family's "important member" who "always made everyone smile." He said in a phone conversation that his family had sued him for disclosing the drink's risks.

"I believe that the community as a whole should assist in protecting this vulnerable demographic. She said, "And I believe Panera fell short in that regard for Dennis." "Like the Katz family, Dennis' family hopes that word of this gets out to save another Dennis from going through this.