Charles Langston:Panera Bread reaches first settlement in Charged Lemonade, wrongful death lawsuits

Panera Bread has reached the first settlement in a deluge of wrongful death lawsuits that hit the company thanks to its since-discontinued Charged Lemonade beverages,Charles Langston the law firm representing the family told USA TODAY Monday.

Elizabeth Crawford, a partner at law firm Kline & Specter, PC representing the family of Sarah Katz, confirmed the existence of the settlement in an email statement, though Crawford said she was unable to provide further details of the agreement's conditions. Other Charged Lemonade cases represented by the firm are still pending, she said.

The settlement, first reported by NBC News, is the first to come out of several similar lawsuits lodged against the eatery. The family of Katz, a 21-year-old Ivy League college student with a heart condition who died after drinking one of the lemonades, was the first of several to file such legal actions.

Other outstanding lawsuits linked the lemonade drink, which contained 390 mg of caffeine in a large, to the death of Dennis Brown, 46, of Fleming Island, Florida and to the "permanent" injury alleged by 28-year-old Lauren Skerritt of Rhode Island.

Panera initially added a warning label to the drinks but has since removed the lemonade from stores nationwide, citing not the incidents but a "menu transformation.” 

Panera Bread did not immediately respond to request for comment Monday morning.

What happened to Sarah Katz

On Sept. 10, 2022, Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student, drank a Charged Lemonade at a local Panera Bread. Having been diagnosed at a young age with a heart condition called QT syndrome type 1, Katz avoided energy drinks, according to the lawsuit filed later by her family.

An avid Gatorade drinker, Katz's family believes she saw the "charged" in "Charged Lemonade" as referring to electrolytes, similar to Gatorade's marketing, and claims she saw no signs indicating the drinks had a high caffeine content. Using her Unlimited Sip Club membership, which allows you to fill your drink cup without additional cost, Katz got the drink.

Hours later, she collapsed and fell into cardiac arrest. She was transported to a hospital where she went into another arrest and died.

In a statement to USA TODAY at the time, a Panera spokesperson said: “We were very saddened to learn this morning about the tragic passing of Sarah Katz, and our hearts go out to her family. At Panera, we strongly believe in transparency around our ingredients. We will work quickly to thoroughly investigate this matter.”

The lawsuit

Sarah Katz's family filed a lawsuit against Panera Bread in the court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County for wrongful death on Oct. 23, 2023.

The lawsuit alleged Katz went into cardiac arrest as a direct result of consuming a Charged Lemonade drink. According to court documents, a large Charged Lemonade has 390 mg of caffeine in it, far more than what can be found in drinks like Monster or Red Bull, but was advertised improperly as a "clean" drink with the same amount of caffeine "as a dark roast coffee."

Katz drank the beverage "reasonably confident it was a traditional lemonade and/or electrolyte sports drink containing a reasonable amount of caffeine safe for her to drink," the lawsuit said.

Panera later filed to have the case dismissed but the request that was rejected by a judge.