Dad Sues Energy Drink Maker Over Death of Son, 19

The father of a 19-year-old who died in 2015 after drinking Monster Energy drink is now suing its manufacturer, TMZ reports. Dustin Hood suffered a cardiac arrhythmia on the basketball court and died at the hospital shortly after. He's believed to have imbibed three large, 24-ounce cans of the "Mega Monster Energy" beverage, per the Inquistr. That means Hood may have ingested more than 700mg of caffeine in a 24-hour period. The Mayo Clinic reports that up to 400mg "appears to be safe for most healthy adults," while the American Academy of Pediatrics is even more conservative in its estimates for teens, saying child and adolescent caffeine consumption shouldn't exceed 100mg per day (and that kids shouldn't be drinking energy drinks at all, as they have "no therapeutic benefit").

The suit in Hood's case notes that the amount he drank would be equivalent to guzzling 14 12-ounce cans of Coke. The Hood suit notes that others have also suffered cardiac arrest after "acute consumption" of the beverage, which is described on the product's website as being "the ideal combo of the right ingredients in the right proportion to deliver the big bad buzz that only Monster can." The Inquistr points out it's not known if Hood had a preexisting heart condition or other malady, or an unusually strong reaction to caffeine itself, that may have made him vulnerable to the cardiac arrhythmia that killed him.

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have you consumed energy drinks and if so, did you ever have a problem after drinking them?

I'm not really into energy drinks as such, I usually only stick to Gatorade/Powerade/whatever else it's called.

I used to drink them quite a bit and do sometimes when I have a long shift. I think it's like everything, it should be used in moderation

Might sound harsh, but this is almost entirely the 19 year old's fault in my opinion. Arguably some blame lies at the parents door if they didn't mention the consumption of caffeine to him and perhaps some lies on regulation and some better degree of labeling is needed.

i never drink them but

s'like everything: moderation

too much water will kill you, too much whisky will kill you

Not sure what they can sue for, it's not like Monster forced him to drink that much, but still sad that someone had to die so young from what's obviously very avoidable

I used to drink 3 16 oz cans of Monster a day before school in the 11th and 12th grade. They make it clear that 3 cans is the max, or 48 fl oz. I never had any problems, yet my teacher did pull me out of class once and started crying because they're killing people...lol.

energy drinks just remind me of them vile jaeger bombs

I drink energy drinks very frequently and rarely get a rush from them! Regardless, they definitely need to be taken in moderation. It's normally a "one and done" situation for me.