Panera faces second lawsuit after ‘Charged Lemonade’ blamed for Florida man’s death

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to amend Panera Bread’s full statement.

(NEXSTAR) — Panera Bread is facing another lawsuit after one of their drinks, Charged Lemonade, allegedly caused a second customer’s death.

According to court documents filed in Delaware and obtained by multiple outlets, the family of 46-year-old Dennis Brown of Fleming Island, Florida is suing Panera Bread over Brown’s October death. Brown’s family says the man drank three of the Charged Lemonades after finishing a work shift at Publix on October 9.

Brown — who had “a chromosomal deficiency disorder, developmental delay, and ADHD,” as well as high blood pressure, according to his family — did not drink energy drinks. He did, however, enjoy lemonade, and had ordered a Charged Lemonade from Panera multiple times before his death, according to the lawsuit.

While walking home from the Panera, Brown “suffered a cardiac event” and was found unresponsive on a sidewalk, the lawsuit continues. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Brown’s cause of death was ruled to be cardiac arrest due to hypertensive disease, according to a death certificate obtained by NBC News.

The lawsuit blames the “unreasonably dangerous and defective design of Panera Charged Lemonade” for Brown’s deadly cardiac event. Panera is being accused of wrongful death, negligence, fraud, as well as falsely implying that the Charged Lemonades are “safe, ‘clean,’ and ‘plant-based.'”

A 30-ounce Charged Lemonades can contain as much as 390 milligrams of caffeine, which is more than you’ll get from drinking a 12-ounce Red Bull and 16-ounce Monster Energy Drink in one sitting, according to the lawsuit. The recommended caffeine intake limit is 400 milligrams, according to the FDA.

In a statement to Nexstar, Panera said, “Panera expresses our deep sympathy for Mr. Brown’s family. Based on our investigation, we believe [Brown’s] unfortunate passing was not caused by one of the company’s products. We view this lawsuit, which was filed by the same law firm as the previous claim, to be equally without merit. Panera stands firmly by the safety of our products.”

In October, the parents of Sarah Katz — a 21-year-old studying international relations and health at the University of Pennsylvania, with a minor in East Asian languages and civilizations — filed a similar lawsuit against Panera. Katz’s parents accused Panera of failing to properly warn customers about the ingredients in the lemonade.

Hours after having a Charged Lemonade in early September 2022, Katz went into cardiac arrest. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital, where she went to cardiac arrest for a second time.

Katz, who had been diagnosed with Long QT Type 1 Syndrome, or LQT1 when she was five, was “vigilant” about “what she needed to do to keep herself safe,” her roommate told NBC. That included not drinking energy drinks or highly caffeinated beverages, the lawsuit explained.

Katz’s family argued Panera did not adequately warn customers of the drink’s caffeine amount. In early November, Panera said it would add new disclosures about the Charged Lemonade to better inform customers. That includes a warning that the drink is “not recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women.”