An $85 million wrongful death lawsuit that was filed today claims that the 2011 death of a Brooklyn man was caused because he drank Red Bull energy drinks. Cory Terry, 33, of Brooklyn, NY, died two years ago while playing basketball, less than an hour after he drank a Red Bull energy drink.
Attorney Ilya Novofastovsky said in the suit that Red Bull downplays the effects and dangers of the many additives outside of caffeine that Red Bull has in its drinks. “Extra stimulants that make it different than a cup of coffee, said Novofastovsky. “[They] are more dangerous than what Red Bull lets on.”
Unrelated health and genetic may have contributed to his death, however, Terry’s family said that he was healthy, active, and a non-smoker.
The Huffington Post reported that this is the first instance of Red Bull being sued for wrongful death, but deceptive marketing is a different story. In January, a lawsuit was filed against Red Bull claiming that the company “uses deceptive marketing to charge a premium for a product whose claims are largely unfounded.” Basically, Red Bull was advertising itself as doing more than what it really could.
Monster Beverage Corp., has committed wrongdoing in a similar vein. The company changed its labeling from “dietary supplement” to “beverage.” This change allowed the company to only list the caffeine content and absolved them of having to reporting associated deaths. It’s a move made by these companies to protect protects at the expense of consumer safety.
Earlier this year, energy drink brand, Monster, was linked to the deaths of several adolescents who consumed the beverages. In connection to the 2012 death of a 19-year old, a lawsuit was filed against the Monster Beverage Corp., as well as another suit against the energy drink company in relation to the 2011 death of a 14-year old girl. Thirteen deaths have been associated with the famed 5-Hour Energy shots.
Ring of Fire host Mike Papantonio has been covering this issue for the better part of a year. Here, he spoke with attorney Virginia Buchanan about the dangers of energy drinks:
