Monster Energy Drinks Cause Serious Injury, Lawsuit Alleges

TAMPA, FL — Monster Energy drinks might do more than provide an extra boost to help fatigued people get though their daily routines. They may also be responsible for causing serious injuries in those who drink them, including strokes, kidney failure, heart attacks and brain damage.

That’s according to a series of lawsuits filed Monday by Florida-based Morgan & Morgan in Washington and California. The law firm’s Mike Morgan and Andrew Parker Felix , along with Kevin Goldberg, filed five lawsuits in California and Washington against the energy drink maker.

“Monster’s classification as a ‘dietary supplement’ prior to 2013 allowed the company to avoid placing labels on its cans informing consumers of the high concentrations of caffeine found in the drinks,” Morgan & Morgan asserted in an announcement of the lawsuits. “Deprived of this important information, the complaint claims, consumers were unable to make informed decisions on what they were putting in their body.”

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While Monster was reclassified in 2013 to conform with FDA standards for conventional food, the firm alleges those standards don’t go far enough in protecting the public.

“The FDA only requires ingredients to be generally regarded as safe (GRAS), which individually caffeine and other ingredients found in Monster’s drinks are,” the firm stated. “Yet, no proper testing has been done on what happens when caffeine is mixed with ingredients like guarana and taurine, which are known to contain high concentrations of caffeine already.”

Morgan & Morgan is also asserting that Monster’s marketing is designed to intentionally target children, teens and young adults.

So far, Morgan & Morgan has only filed lawsuits against Monster, but its attorneys say they believe the issue is an “industry-wide problem.”

A website, aptly named EnergyDrinksLawsuit.com, has been created by the firm to expose the alleged dangers of energy drinks and to provide representation to those who may be “entitled to compensation from energy drink manufacturers.”

It remains unclear just how much in damages the suits seek to gain.

Monster Energy said in a statement that the lawsuits have no merit and are an attempt on the part of personal injury lawyers to create their own cottage industry out of suing energy drink manufacturers.

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