Panera Bread has settled with the family of an Ivy League student with a heart condition who died after drinking the chainâs highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade drink.
Sarah Katz, 21, was a University of Pennsylvania student with a heart condition called long QT syndrome type 1 who avoided energy drinks per her doctorsâ recommendations, according to a lawsuit filed last year in Philadelphia.
The suit said that Katz bought a Charged Lemonade from a Panera restaurant in September 2022. Her roommate and close friend told NBC News that she went into cardiac arrest hours later.Â
The complaint, filed on behalf of Katzâs parents, was the first of four lawsuits that Panera faced over the beverage. A second lawsuit blamed it for a Florida manâs death while the other two alleged that the Charged Lemonade caused permanent heart injuries in previously healthy people.
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Panera announced in May that it was discontinuing the beverage nationwide.
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Elizabeth Crawford, a partner at the Philadelphia-based law firm Kline & Specter, PC, who represents the plaintiffs in all four lawsuits, told NBC News on Monday morning in her first interview since the settlement that âthe matter has resolvedâ but said she was not permitted to share any other details.
Panera did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the development. After learning of Katzâs death, the company said it was âvery saddened to learn about the tragic passing of Sarah Katzâ and it vowed to âthoroughly investigate this matter.â
Despite the lawsuits, which referred to the Charged Lemonade as a âdangerous energy drink,â Panera said the decision to discontinuethe beverage was part of a ârecent menu transformation.â
The wrongful death lawsuit filed after Katzâs death alleged that the Charged Lemonade had been âoffered side-by-side with all of Paneraâs non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinksâ and was advertised as a âplant-based and cleanâ beverage that contained as much caffeine as the restaurantâs dark roast coffee. The complaint said the Charged Lemonade also had guarana extract, another stimulant, as well as the equivalent of nearly 30 teaspoons of sugar in the large size.
Following the lawsuit over Katzâs death, Panera made a number of changes, including moving the Charged Lemonade behind the counter so it was no longer self-serve and updating its nutrition information to reflect how much caffeine was in the drink when it was served with ice. It also added prominent signs cautioning that Charged Lemonade contained caffeine, should be consumed in moderation and was not recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women.
The Katz case was supposed to go to trial this month, with jury selection slated for later this week.
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