- A woman says she has "permanent cardiac injuries" after drinking Panera's caffeinated lemonade.
- She said in a lawsuit that she drank two-and-a-half cups and now experiences brain fog, palpitations, and body shakes.
A new lawsuit against Panera Bread claims that a woman has "permanent cardiac injuries" after drinking its caffeinated Charged Lemonade.
It's the third lawsuit connected to the drink after the families of two people sued the sandwich chain last year, claiming that their relatives died shortly after drinking the beverage.
Lauren Skerritt, an occupational therapist and competitive athlete from Rhode Island, drank two-and-a-half cups of the lemonade in April 2023, when she was 27, the lawsuit says. She experienced palpitations and had to go to the emergency room the next day, where she was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, an irregular and rapid heart rhythm, the lawsuit says.
Since then, Skerritt has had "recurrent episodes of rapid heartbeat that occur suddenly and without pattern," requiring daily medication and affecting her ability to work, exercise, and socialize, the lawsuit says.
Skerritt had no underlying health conditions, according to the lawsuit. Prior to her experience at Panera, she went to the gym multiple times a week, played soccer, and completed obstacle course races, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says that Skerritt now gets supraventricular tachycardia, a heartbeat that's very fast or erratic, and experiences symptoms including shortness of breath, palpitations, brain fog, difficulty thinking and concentrating, body shakes, and weakness. She's also developed a tremor, according to the lawsuit.
Skerritt and her husband have also put their plans to have a family on hold because her condition means it would be classed as a high-risk pregnancy, the lawsuit says.
"Everything in her life has been altered because of this situation," Elizabeth Crawford, an attorney at Kline & Specter PC who's representing Skerritt and the families of the two deceased people, told NBC, which first reported on Skerritt's lawsuit. "It's devastating."
Sarah Katz, a UPenn student who had lived with a heart condition since the age of five and avoided energy drinks, died in September 2022 aged 21 after drinking Charged Lemonade, according to a lawsuit filed by her parents.
And in October 2023, Dennis Brown had a cardiac arrest and died after drinking three cups of the lemonade in mango yuzu citrus flavor in Florida, according to a lawsuit filed by his family. The man, who had high blood pressure, a chromosomal deficiency disorder, developmental delay, and ADHD, didn't consume energy drinks or coffee, per the lawsuit.
The lawsuits claim that Panera didn't make it obvious enough that the lemonade was caffeinated. Skerritt's lawsuit describes the lemonade as a "juice beverage marketed to children and adults alike" and displayed in the same way as non-caffeinated drinks.
In October, after the first lawsuit was filed, Panera changed how it labeled the drinks. It also appears to have reformulated the beverages to reduce their caffeine content.
The US Food and Drug Administration says that 400 milligrams of caffeine is a generally safe daily limit for a healthy adult. At Panera, a 20-fluid-ounce latte or cappuccino has 145 milligrams of caffeine, while a large 30-fluid-ounce Charged Lemonade currently has 234 for the mango yuzu citrus flavor and 236 milligrams for the strawberry lemon mint flavor. Both contained around 390 milligrams in October.
The drinks contain large quantities of sugar, though Panera also sells a Blood Orange Charged Splash, which is sugar-free but caffeinated.
"You put an innocuous product like lemonade in an innocuous bakery-cafe like Panera, what reasonable consumer is going to be thinking that they're drinking, essentially, three Red Bulls?," Crawford, the attorney, told NBC.
Business Insider has contacted Panera for comment. A spokesperson previously told BI that the company viewed the lawsuits by both Katz and Brown's families as "without merit."
"Panera stands firmly by the safety of our products," the spokesperson said at the time.