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

  • fiat_lux
    30•9 months ago

    "Katz had a heart condition called long QT syndrome type 1 and avoided energy drinks at the recommendation of her doctors, according to the filing.

    … “She was very, very vigilant about what she needed to do to keep herself safe,” Conroy said. “I guarantee if Sarah had known how much caffeine this was, she never would have touched it with a 10-foot pole.”

    … The charged lemonade was “offered side-by-side with all of Panera’s non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks” and was advertised as a “plant-based and clean” beverage that contained as much caffeine as the restaurant’s dark roast coffee…

    …The charged lemonade also has guarana extract, another stimulant, as well as the equivalent of nearly 30 teaspoons of sugar"

    You either did not read even half the article, or you did and then completely forgot or ignored the contents. Which was it?

    • @abraxas@sh.itjust.works
      10•9 months ago

      I have a lobster allergy. I am very, very vigilant about it because I don’t like being rushed to the ER. I had imitation crab meat that happened to have lobster in it once. Didn’t even think to ask. That was my fault.

      The charged lemonade was “offered side-by-side with all of Panera’s non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks

      I’d love to see a picture of that. At my local Panera it’s right next to the ice tea and has a giant sign on it about being highly caffeinated. There’s a few pictures around about them behind the counter with no visible sign, so lacking more info this above quote works in Panera’s favor for me.

      advertised as a “plant-based and clean” beverage

      Let me complete the sentence. It’s advertised as “Plant-based, clean caffeine powered by guarana & green coffee extract”. The quote provided in the article comes from the posted caffeine notice. The other ones are advertised as “Plant-based and Clean with as much caffeine as our Dark Roast coffee”. And the plaintiff is trying to argue “it has more caffeine than the dark roast”, which is one of those “misleading truths” I’ve gotten into elsewhere. It’s less caffeinated per ounce, and not the highest caffeine drink they sell.

      …The charged lemonade also has guarana extract, another stimulant, as well as the equivalent of nearly 30 teaspoons of sugar

      For guarana, it’s on the sign but not advertised as well. If the entire complaint was that she couldn’t have guarana, they might have a point. If the complaint is that the sign was missing or hidden, they would have a point. Every piece of signage online or in-store I’ve seen they have the word “Charged”, they mention that it’s caffeinated.

      I don’t want to say personal responsibility… fuck that. Somebody died. It’s a tragedy, but short of more info than in the article, not wrongful death. Thing is, this could be like the McDonalds coffee thing where a lot of people left out that the coffee temperature was calibrated wrong and the lady got third degree burns from it.

      • fiat_lux
        1•9 months ago

        but short of more info than in the article, not wrongful death. Thing is, this could be like the McDonalds coffee thing where a lot of people left out that the coffee temperature was calibrated wrong and the lady got third degree burns from it.

        Exactly, there are a billion things that might have happened, accidental or intentional, local or systemic. Which is why when people immediately presume it was her fault for not checking, it’s pretty gross. Especially when it’s clear they would only have to have read less than half the article to know there were potential failures on Panera’s part which may justify discovery, which means the case needs to be filed to find out. That is, reading the linked article might have even partly answered their question, assuming it was genuinely asked.

        All we really know for sure is that she wouldn’t have drunk it if she knew it were caffeinated + guarana, and certainly wouldn’t have poured a whole 30oz for herself if she suspected it, and that she clearly has a habit of checking already. So either something went tragically wrong at the wrong time, or multiple things did. And it clearly extends further than the tired “personal responsibility” talking point implying the victim’s laziness and/or incompetence.

        • @abraxas@sh.itjust.works
          2•9 months ago

          Which is why when people immediately presume it was her fault for not checking, it’s pretty gross

          Agreed. Even if it were a simple mistake, somebody died and that fact should be taken seriously. Never blame the dead person. The question, then, is whether to blame anyone at all.

          That said, the article is not very convincing to me that Panera did anything wrong. It could be because the argument is truncated, but some of the quotes in the article are dead guilty of giving a fairly one-sided view of the reality.

          What I see as a failure would have been missing or hidden signage, as some Panera locations keep that drink behind the counter. The quote directly states that’s not the case here. And in the same move, pointing out it was near “less caffeinated” drinks, it’s obvious that dispenser was near at least the iced tea and sodas. IF it was sitting next to iced tea and had the standard signage (posted by others here), I don’t see Panera having done anything wrong. But we don’t know if those statements are all true, that’s just what I extrapolate from quotes and explanations about the complaint.

          All we really know for sure is that she wouldn’t have drunk it if she knew it were caffeinated + guarana, and certainly wouldn’t have poured a whole 30oz for herself if she suspected it, and that she clearly has a habit of checking already. So either something went tragically wrong at the wrong time, or multiple things did

          “Gone wrong” can still be a tragic mistake. As a lot of people said “I don’t read signs if I’m in a hurry”. I’ve ordered food items before that the menu clearly said had ingredients I was dangerously allergic to and I missed it until I received the food item. Short of verbally asking “are you able to consume 200mg sugar? Are you able to consume 360mg caffeine?” of every ingredient of every food product in every restaurant, tragic things will still occasionally happen. And if we did THAT, someone might well say “yeah yeah whatever”. And if THAT did happen and someone died, it’s still not appropriate to bring up personal responsibility.