Monster Beverage Corp. reportedly denies role in 14-year-old's death

Anais Fournier is seen in an undated photo. / http://rememberanais.com/

Monster Beverage Corp., which makes Monster Energy Drink, is standing by their product and are saying the beverage played no role in a 14-year-old's untimely death.

Anais Fournier's parents say Monster Energy Drink killed their daughter and are suing the company.

The company however told CBS station WJZ in Baltimore in a statement, "Monster does not believe that its beverages are in any way responsible for the death of Ms. Fournier. Monster is unaware of any fatality anywhere that has been caused by its drinks."

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Parents sue Monster Energy Drink after daughter's death

The girl from Hagerstown, Md. was 14 years old when she went to a local mall and consumed a 24-ounce can of Monster Energy Drink, according to her mom Wendy Crossland.

The next day Anais reportedly went back to the mall and drank another 24-ounce can on Monster Energy, her mom said, and that night, the teen went into cardiac arrest.

Her cause of death was determined to be cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity.

• Monster Energy Drink maker sued for 14-year-old's death
• FDA investigates five deaths, one heart attack linked to Monster Energy Drinks

A cardiac arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of a heartbeat, such as beating too fast or too slow, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

According to the coroner, Anais Fournier had a mild underlying heart condition that was aggravated by the caffeine.

Following the Fournier's wrongful death lawsuit, news broke that the Food and Drug Administration was investigating five deaths and one non-fatal heart attack linked to Monster Energy Drink.

"As with any reports of a death or injury the agency receives, we take them very seriously and investigate diligently," Shelly Burgess, a FDA spokeswoman, said to the Associated Press.

In August, New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued subpoenas to energy drink makers, including Monster, as part of the state's investigation of the industry, according to the AP. The AG's investigation reportedly looked into the recipe, advertising and sale of Monster's namesake brand of energy drinks.

Mike Gimbel, a drug expert at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Towson, Md., told WJZ, "These items are dangerous to children and there's very little way of regulating what's in it or how much they're using."

In a 2008 study, researchers at Johns Hopkins called for prominent labels on all energy drinks warning of health risks, including caffeine intoxication.

Without adequate labels, the researchers argued, consumers most likely wouldn't realize how much caffeine they were taking in. "It's like drinking a serving of an alcoholic beverage and not knowing if its beer or scotch," one of the report's authors Dr. Roland Griffiths, said at the time in a Hopkins press release./p>

In May 2011, researchers from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said energy drinks "are never appropriate for children and adolescents," saying caffeine in children has been linked to harmful effects on the developing neurologic and cardiovascular systems.

[_MikeBudd]

It is a very sensitive topic, with the death of this poor young girl....
My point of view is that knowledge is key, especially regarding health, but for reasonable persons only: I don't think that mentioning the level of caffeine on energy drinks will refrain many people from buying them...
It's not only about information. See smokers for instance, do you think that they lack information?
Many medical studies show that caffeine is great in moderation for adults: http://ephedrinewheretobuy.com/ephedrine-where-to-buy-eca-stacks/coffee-a-true-wonder-drug
The key word is "moderate": for caffeine as for most natural products, a little is a health-promoter, a lot is a health-negative. Even if a small number of people might change their habits thanks to statutory safety warnings on the packs of all caffeinated drinks, I think that it would be worth trying it.
Cheers, Mike

[JohnMartin90]

I heard some reports saying that Anais Fournier had a sister named Garnette Smith that also died due to a heart problem as an infant? Does anyone know if that is true?

[Cripster626]

This is a sad story but its full of crap where someone is trying to make money off of a tragedy. I drink 4-5 of these a day and buy them by the cases a week. If you let your 14 year old drink these things then the death should be on you and I would hope that the AG where they live will take them up on Child Neglect....I would never let my teenage daughter drink a full one of the Small monsters much less two of the 24 ounce ones....Bad Parents killed this girl not Monsters

[Booleyman]

Caffine does not equal energy, for all of you who fall for this marketing BS. 5 hour energy, monster balls, etc. It's soda with a different name.

You want energy? eat some fruit, exercise, be healthy.

[inesje88]

I read else where that Anais suffered from ehlers-danlos syndrome. Most likely it was the vascular type or another type with vascuar issues.Very few doctors know or understand ehlers danlos. They rarely know how to advise a patient on the do's and don'ts. I know this because I have ehlers danlos type 3 w/ vascular issues. I wonder if here parents even knew she had eds prior to her death? EDS is often undiagnosed until you wind up in the ER or on the slab. This a tragedy but I don't think the makers of MONSTER are responsble. Maybe an age limit is the proper way to go.

[the_cold_revolution]

Maybe you shouldn't feed a child with a heart conditions caffeine? I'm sure a doctor has told them that before.

[SUZAMBA]

How about making those that buy the drink responsible for their own actions.
She was not forced to drink it and chose to do so of her own free will, does this not make her responsible for her actions, not Monster.?

[1celiac]

How about making the drinks 18 and up? If children are not to consume them, then they shouldn't be able to buy them.