Panera Bread settles wrongful-death lawsuit filed by family of Penn student who died after drinking ‘Charged Lemonade’
Sarah Katz, 21, died in 2022 after consuming Panera's caffeinated lemonade in a West Philadelphia store.
Panera Bread settled a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the family of a University of Pennsylvania student who died after drinking the chain’s Charged Lemonade in 2022. A trial was set to begin Thursday.
Sarah Katz, 21, died after drinking the caffeinated lemonade at a Panera Bread store at 40th and Walnut Streets in September 2022. Katz had a heart condition known as long QT syndrome type 1, and physicians recommended that she avoid highly caffeinated beverages.
In a lawsuit filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas last year, Sarah Katz’s parents, Jill and Michael Katz, allege that their daughter followed her physicians’ recommendations and “never knowingly consumed energy drinks.” But even though the drink contained up to 390 milligram of caffeine in 30 fluid ounces, and a high sugar content, Panera failed to disclose that the Charged Lemonade was akin to an energy drink, the lawsuit claimed.
“Sarah was killed by Panera’s toxic super energy drink,” Kline & Specter attorney Elizabeth Crawford, who represents the family, told The Inquirer last year. “It shouldn’t be sold, and if it is sold, it should have an adequate warning. The Katz family wants to prevent this tragedy from happening to someone else.”
Crawford said in a statement Monday that “the case has resolved” without providing additional information such as the terms of the settlement. It is unknown if or how much Panera paid to resolve the matter.
Panera did not respond Monday to requests for comment.
When the Katz family filed the lawsuit last year, Panera expressed their sympathies in a statement.
“Our hearts go out to her family,” a Panera spokesperson said at the time. “At Panera, we strongly believe in transparency around our ingredients. We will work quickly to thoroughly investigate this matter.”
Panera has faced at least two more lawsuits related to Charged Lemonade, related to the death of a Florida man and “cardiac injuries” of a Florida woman.
The company announced in May that it will phase out the Charged Lemonade drink, a change it attributed to a “menu transformation” and not the lawsuits.