New Monster Energy Drink Lawsuits

Filed June 2, 2023:

www.vargaslawoffice.com
Five new personal injury lawsuits filed against
Monster Beverages

Earlier this month, a Florida firm filed five new

lawsuits in California and Washington alleging that Monster Beverage has
caused serious injuries and deaths through improper testing, lack of appropriate
warning labels, and concealment of known side effects and health risks
associated with their energy drinks.

The controversy surrounding the energy drinks is not new—in fact, the history of
energy-drink-related hospitalizations dates back to 2004. However, the recent
publication of a new study on energy drinks in the International Journal of
Cardiology seems to have thrown more fuel on the fire and brought the dispute
back into the media’s eye once again.

According to the study, drinking more than two energy drinks per day is
associated with serious heart problems. This new scientific evidence helps
support plaintiffs’ claims that the high amounts of caffeine and other stimulants
like guarana extract and taurine in Monster drinks are dangerous.

Prior to 2013, Monster energy drinks were classified as a dietary supplement

rather than a conventional food product, which meant they were not regulated
very strictly by the FDA. For example, whereas a soda can only contain 71 mg of
caffeine per serving, a supplement can contain any amount. Monster drinks
contained about 120 mg per serving, and were often sold in containers holding
two servings.

Although Monster energy drinks are now classified as a conventional food

product, experts worry that even though the individual ingredients in the drinks
have been approved as safe, the drinks need to be tested as a mixture to
guarantee safety.

Currently, the Florida firm behind the most recent lawsuits is investigating over
100 complaints related o Monster energy drinks. Reported injuries include heart
attacks, strokes, brain injuries, and kidney failure in victims ages 14 to 42 with no
prior history of health problems.

At least two prior lawsuits have already been settled, resulting in undisclosed
awards to the families of young people who died after drinking Monster products.
This would seem to provide a reasonable expectation that the new Monster
energy drink lawsuits also have potential for success.