Monster Strikes Back At Lawsuit Over Dead Teen
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The Monster energy drink corporation responded to a lawsuit brought on from parents of a teen who parents believed had suffered from a heart attack from drinking two 24 oz. monster energy drinks in one day.
A 24 ounce can of Monster Energy contains 240 milligrams of caffeine from all sources. This is less than a 12 ounce cup of Starbucks brewed coffee, which contains about 260 milligrams of caffeine. A 16 ounce cup of Starbucks brewed coffee contains about 330 milligrams of caffeine.
The company brought together a team of medical professionals including a cardiac pathologist, a cardiac electrophysiologist, an emergency room physician, a chief forensic pathologist/coroner, as well as other medical experts including a toxicologist and a pharmacologist.
The medical experts then looked closely at the medical records of the autopsy and previous medical records of the girl in order to determine if the caffeine enriched energy drink was to blame for her death.
From the press release: "After an examination of Ms. Fournier's medical records, pathology report and autopsy report, the physicians stated conclusively that there is no medical, scientific or factual evidence to support the Maryland Medical Examiner's Report of 'caffeine toxicity' or that Ms. Fournier's consumption of two Monster Energy Drinks 24 hours apart contributed to, let alone was the cause of her untimely death," said Daniel Callahan, of Callahan & Blaine, one of Monster's lawyers.
"When the Maryland Medical Examiner was asked why her report contained the term 'caffeine toxicity,' she responded that it was because she had been told by Ms. Fournier's mother that Ms. Fournier had consumed an energy drink containing caffeine," Mr. Callahan said. "This was even though her report states that blood tests for caffeine levels were not done."
"In fact, the physicians, including a coroner, we asked to examine Ms. Fournier's medical records and autopsy report found no medical, scientific or factual evidence to support a finding of caffeine toxicity," Mr. Callahan said. "They said no caffeine blood level test was performed to determine if any caffeine had been ingested. There is no medical or scientific evidence that Ms. Fournier had any caffeine in her system at the time of cardiac arrest."
According to the report, the teen regular consumed energy drinks often and her mother drove her to Starbucks to purchase coffee often as well.
What the team of professionals found was that the girl's heart artery was abnormally thick and her heart was around 60 percent larger that it should have been for a girl her age. She also had a diagnosed heart murmur at the age of 4 and was found to have scarring, or fibrosis, on her heart.
The press release from Monster Enery Drinks can be found here.