Dennis Brown, 46, drank three of the highly caffeinated beverages before suffering a cardiac arrest in October, according to the suit.

Panera Bread’s highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade is now blamed for a second death, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

Dennis Brown, of Fleming Island, Florida, drank three Charged Lemonades from a local Panera on Oct. 9 and then suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on his way home, the suit says.

Brown, 46, had an unspecified chromosomal deficiency disorder, a developmental delay and a mild intellectual disability. He lived independently, frequently stopping at Panera after his shifts at a supermarket, the legal complaint says. Because he had high blood pressure, he did not consume energy drinks, it adds.

    • Showroom7561
      87·
      1 year ago

      I’m assuming he used a self-serve drink station, as I believe all Panera Bread’s have.

      This is how it would look:

      This was from another report:

      “The lawsuit filed in Delaware disclosed that Brown had ordered Panera’s charged lemonade at least seven times over the course of two weeks in September and October. It also disclosed Brown’s medical conditions, including high blood pressure, developmental delay, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a chromosomal disorder causing a mild intellectual disability and blurry vision. The lawsuit said Brown believed the Panera charged lemonade was safe since it was not advertised as an energy drink.”

      Now, if Brown has a “mild intellectual disability” and a “developmental delay”, and “blurry vision”, is it not possible that he simply couldn’t read or understand what the contents of the drink were?

      Even the sugar, which I’m sure everyone knows is in lemonade, would have exacerbated his high blood pressure, yet he had THREE (upwards of 2.5L worth in a short amount of time!)?

      “The lawsuit alleges that Panera “knew or should have known” that the charged lemonade could pose risks, particularly to children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and individuals sensitive to caffeine.”

      Unless he was tricked or forced into drinking these, I don’t think that the lawsuit will be successful. Had he died consuming the food they served in moderation, there could be settlement. But even that would a stretch to win since he had a health condition that Panera Bread (or each different employee) wouldn’t be aware of, or responsible for.