October 22, 2012 — Monster Beverage Corp. stock fell more than 14% today after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced five reports of deaths associated with the energy drinks.
Although the reports do not conclusively prove a link between the drinks and injury, they do increase growing concern about the safety of the drinks — especially for young people who have heart conditions. Last week, the company was sued by the family of a 14 year-old girl who died after drinking two 24-ounce Monster energy drinks.
The Monster energy drink lawsuit was filed by Wendy Crossland, mother of Anais Fournier. The girl had an underlying heart condition called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. She consumed two 24-ounce Monster Energy Drinks in a 24-hour period — nearly 500-mg of caffeine — and suffered a fatal cardiac arrest while watching a movie at home. An autopsy report listed her cause of death as “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity complicating mitral valve regurgitation in the setting of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.”
Soon after the death, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) called on the FDA to improve the safety of energy drinks by limiting the legal amount of caffeine. The FDA does not currently require energy drink companies to reveal the amount of caffeine on the labels of their products, because the drinks are classified as “dietary supplements” instead of beverages. Sodas are subject to a caffeine limit of about 71-mg per 12-ounces, but some energy drinks contain upwards of 500-mg.
As the popularity of energy drinks has increased, so has the number of injuries. Between 2005 and 2009, while energy drinks grew dramatically in popularity, there was a 10-fold increase in the number of emergency room visits for complications associated with energy drinks. Most of the incidents also involved drugs or alcohol. Of the 13,114 emergency room visits in 2009, some involved heart attacks, chest pain, and vomiting. About half of the incidents involved young people between the ages of 18-25 years old.
Do I have an Energy Drink Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Monster energy drink injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call us toll-free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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