Panera restaurants across the U.S. are removing its Charged Lemonades as the company faces several lawsuits, including one filed by a Florida family alleging the drink led to the death of a 46-year-old man.
CNN reported Tuesday that the Charged Lemonades will be removed from Panera menus over the next couple of weeks as the restaurant faces three separate lawsuits, which claim there is a high amount of caffeine in the beverages.
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The family of a 46-year-old Florida man filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit last December.
The lawsuit says David Brown, who had high blood pressure, believed the Panera Charged Lemonade was safe since it was not advertised as an energy drink. It was offered in the same place as the restaurant chain’s non-caffeinated or less-caffeinated drinks, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that on Oct. 9, Brown had the drink three times during a visit to the Panera Bread Company location on Fleming Island. On his walk home, he suffered cardiac arrest and died a short time later. He had ordered a Panera Charged Lemonade at least seven times over the course of two weeks in September and October, according to the lawsuit.
Brown had a chromosomal deficiency disorder, developmental delays, some blurred vision and mild intellectual disability, the lawsuit said. He had worked for 17 years at Publix Super Markets and would regularly go to the Panera restaurant after work for meals, as many as three times a week, because the lawsuit said he felt the chain advertised as being a healthy alternative to other restaurants.
Another wrongful death lawsuit was filed in October by the family of 21-year-old Sarah Katz, a University of Pennsylvania student with a heart condition who died in September 2022 after consuming the drink, according to media reports.
CNN said Panera would replace the drinks with low-sugar and low-caffeine options, like a blueberry lavender lemonade and a pomegranate hibiscus tea.
The Charged Lemonades were first introduced in April 2022.
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