Monster Energy Lawsuit: Not Enough Evidence to Prove Death of 14-Year-Old Anais Fournier
The family of 14-year-old Anais Fournier, who died in 2011 of cardiac arrhythmia, filed a lawsuit against Monster Beverage Corp. believing the energy drink killed their daughter by causing caffeine toxicity.
The young girl from Maryland died within 24 hours after allegedly drinking two Monster energy drinks, according to the International Business Times. However, Monster fought the lawsuit by hiring medical examiners to see if the drink really caused the young teenager's death. Monster retained cardiac pathologists, a chief forensic pathologist/coroner and a toxicologist as well as other specialists.
One of Monster's lawyers, Daniel Callahan of Callahan & Blaine, said, "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."
The medical examiners determined there wasn't enough evidence to claim the drink killed Fournier but in October 2012, the Food and Drug Administration released incident reports that Monster energy may have been responsible for five deaths since 2009, according to The New York Times.
