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Back in December, we talked about Panera’s hyper caffeinated Charged Lemonade drink. Charged Lemonades contain almost 300mg of caffeine, which makes one single drink equal to almost three cups of coffee. It also has more caffeine and sugar than Red Bull or a Monster energy drink. In October 2023, the families of 21-year-old Sarah Katz and 46-year-old Dennis Brown filed wrongful death lawsuits against Panera for deceptive advertising. They claimed that rather than promoting it as an energy drink, the company advertised the lemonades as a “plant-based and clean” beverage with the same amount of caffeine as a dark roast coffee. Panera, for its part, denied culpability in both deaths and said it would make sure people were aware of Charged Lemonade’s high caffeine content.
Last week, another lawsuit was filed against Panera over the Charged Lemonade. This time, 28-year-old Lauren Skerritt alleges that despite not having any underlying medical conditions, the drink caused her to have “permanent cardiac injuries.” Skerritt’s incident occurred back in April after she drank two-and-a-half (!!!) Charged Lemonades and ended up in the hospital twice. As a result, she has long-lasting physical effects that prevent her from leading a normal life.
Lauren Skerritt filed a legal complaint against the bakery chain on Jan. 16. The 28-year-old athlete claims that drinking Charged Lemonade caused her to have “permanent cardiac injuries” despite having “no underlying medical conditions,” per the documents obtained by PEOPLE.
On April 8, Skerritt, an occupational therapist, who played soccer and often competed in obstacle course races, consumed two and a half Charged Lemonades from a Panera in Greenville, Rhode Island. After, she experienced several episodes of palpitations, which she says she has never experienced before, causing her to go to the hospital.
While at the hospital, she experienced a syncopal episode. She was moved to critical care as her heart rate was up in the 180s to 190s. She revisited the hospital on Aug. 30 to be treated for early onset atrial fibrillation and testing showed no evidence of underlying structural heart disease, according to the complaint.
Prior to drinking the lemonades, Skerritt “worked out regularly” but now, months after consuming the beverage, Skerritt alleges that she can no longer exercise, socialize or work in the same capacity. The complaint also claims that since drinking the lemonades Skerritt has experienced shortness of breath, palpitations, brain fog, difficulty thinking and concentrating, body shakes, and weakness. She takes daily medication to regulate her heart rate and rhythm.
A representative for Panera did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Skerritt’s complaint. Elizabeth Crawford of Kline and Specter, PC. who is representing Skerritt, said in a statement that Skerritt was “seriously injured by Panera’s toxic super energy drink.” Crawford is also representing the families of two people who died after drinking the Charged Lemonades.
Yikes, that’s quite terrifying that all of that can happen to your body from one triggering event like that. I’m serious. I’m sorry for what Lauren went through and hope that her body is able to recover over time. At what point is Panera going to reevaluate the actual ingredients of this drink rather than just how to market it? What is the target audience for a drink that has that much damn caffeine? If they’re not going to lower the caffeine content, then I really think that Panera just needs to pull Charged Lemonades off the shelf and cut their losses on this one before more people get hurt or worse.
