5-Hour Energy Cited in 13 Deaths; Caffeine in Energy Drinks Blamed

The makers of popular energy drink 5-Hour Energy have been cited in 13 cases of death that may be linked to the highly caffeinated energy supplement, according to a report by The New York Times.

The filings were made to federal officials at the FDA and are among at least 90 other reports citing 5-Hour Energy, 30 of which indicated a serious or life-threatening condition, including, in one case, a woman's miscarriage. Though, the Times notes, the filing of an incident report does not necessarily mean the product was responsible for the deaths.

In 2010, a lawsuit was filed against Living Essentials, the parent company of 5-Hour Energy, alleging that a 27-year-old Tennessee man suffered a heart attack after about a month of regularly drinking the 2-ounce energy shot.

That lawsuit alleged the drink failed to provide information on the risks of the beverage. According to that lawsuit, the drink “which contains a combination of caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone, malic acid, and other ingredients, was the sole cause for his heart attack.”

In a growing trend, some law firms are beginning to advertise as specializing in energy drink suits, as more and more problems are connected with the beverages.

In October, a Maryland mother filed a lawsuit against Monster Energy over the death of her 14-year-old daughter, who died after drinking two Monster drinks in one 24-hour period. The teenage girl died from “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity.”

The mother went on to file a Freedom of Information Act request with the F.D.A to see if the drink had been linked to any other deaths. She discovered that it had been named in five other cases.