Sarah Katz, 21, had a heart condition and was not aware of the drink’s caffeine content, which exceeded that of cans of Red Bull and Monster energy drinks combined, according to a legal filing
Sarah Katz, 21, had a heart condition and was not aware of the drink’s caffeine content, which exceeded that of cans of Red Bull and Monster energy drinks combined, according to a legal filing
The article claims it has 390 mg and was sold alongside noncaffeinated drinks, though I’m not clear exactly how misleading they were about the amount of caffeine in there. I agree with you – it seems wild to me that an adult with a heart condition like that wouldn’t check any caffeinated drink to see the caffeine quantity before drinking it…
The issue is that she didn’t know it had caffeine, presumably because it wasn’t obvious when ordering it. She may have just thought “charged lemonade” was the name they gave their regular lemonade drink and didn’t think anything of it. I wouldn’t think to ask for the caffeine content of a lemonade, either.
I suspected this at first, but the article put its foot in its mouth clearly pointing out that these are in the self-serve section. The pics going around show standard marketing on the dispenser saying it’s high caffeine. If THOSE were missing, now you’ve got a valid complaint. But the article says nothing about that.
Does it change your mind if there’s a large sign on the dispenser saying it’s highly caffeinated and including big bold caffeine content numbers?
We don’t know if the sign was there in this tragedy, but we know it’s standard Panera marketing to have it there.
If there’s a sign clearly indicating high caffeine content, sadly I think that’s on her. If there isn’t, then I can see Panera being somewhat liable. It seems similar to food allergies, where people who are allergic to, say, peanuts have to check food labels and food companies have to clearly label the presence of peanuts.
When I hear “charged” lemonade I assume it’s caffeinated but maybe not everyone has that understanding.
If I were on a Jury (never happen), “charged” wouldn’t be enough for me, but clearly visible signage would.
I don’t know how much responsibility I’d put on her, honestly. There’s a lot worse things that have gone un-remarked for decades. Like, did you know that “imitation crab meat” often has lobster in it? And is often sold in things with “crab” in the name? I’m highly allergic to lobster and not allergic to crab. I still only get things with “crab” in them at places I know I can trust not to use said imitation meat.
So I look at that, and it’s hard for me to fault Panera for it especially because I can see how much they’re marketing it as highly caffeinated online and in my local Panera. Not impossible to fault them (I’d have to see/hear the whole story), but difficult.