Last week, Monster Beverage company, the energy drink subsidiary of Corona, was ordered into mediation by a judge in California due to the death of a teenage girl in Maryland.  According to the parents’ lawsuit, Anais Fournier died after drinking two Monster energy drinks within the span of 24 hours.  The caffeine toxicity, combined with a heart condition that the 14-year-old had, were both credited with the 14-year-old’s death. 

According to the coroner’s report, the teenager passed away because of "cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity." Physicians had also made the girl’s parents aware that she had a heart condition, although had not told her to avoid drinking caffeine.  According to the teenager’s parents, the energy drink company is at fault for marketing a drink to teenagers that could be damaging to their health, or worse, fatal. 

According to Kevin Goldberg, who represents the family, "Anais' parents were hoping a trial date would be set at the hearing and they're frustrated that despite mounting evidence that energy drinks are dangerous and should not be consumed by children or anyone with an underlying heart condition, Monster continues to sell thousands of energy drinks to young people every day. We remain confident that we will win this case and look forward to proving that Anais died as a direct result of her consumption of Monster Energy Drink." 

Additionally, in the past, the energy drink company has denied that their drinks have more content than what can be found in an espresso-based coffee drink.  However, those who criticize the company’s aggressive marketing to young people claim that coffee isn’t marketed to the younger age bracket and it isn’t consumed as quickly as energy drinks are consumed.