The family of a 14-year-old teenage girl filed a complaint against Monster Energy, maker of energy drinks, announcing that an overdose of the drink caused the girl’s death last year, reports AFP.
The content of the two small bottles of 70 centilitres consumed by young Anaïs Fournier, 24 hours before she died due to cardiac arrest contained the caffeine equivalent of seven Coca-Cola cans the same size, say lawyers who filed the complaint on behalf of members of the family.
An autopsy performed after the death of the teenager found “a cardiac arrhythmia caused by caffeine intoxication” as the cause of death, writes AFP.
Family asks California Supreme Court “all compensation provided by law,” advocating that Monster Energy drink manufacturer be blamed for not informing about the risks posed by its products.
Under the U.S. law, carbonated drinks can not contain more than 71.5 milligrams of caffeine in a volume of 35 cl. However, this limit does not apply to energy drinks like the ones produced by Monster Energy, which are considered dietary supplements.
“These drinks are death traps for young people, boys and girls that are growing up like my daughter Anaïs,” said Friday her mother, Wendy Crossland, quoted in a statement released by family lawyers. “I want to inform the Monster Energy that their product killed her,” said the woman.
The U.S. group that produces the beverage, Monster Beverage, said that it has no knowledge of any death caused by the approximately eight billion energy drinks that sold worldwide. “Monster Energy believes that no one of its products is in any way responsible for the death of Ms. Fournier,” reads the release.
Monster Energy is the leading competitor of the Austrian brand Red Bull, together with the U.S. company Rockstar. Red Bull dominates both rivals, owning 40% share of the global market for energy drinks.
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