Suit claims '5-Hour Energy' caused fatal heart attack

The Daily Record Newswire The widow of a 27-year-old Tennessee man is suing the makers of ''5-Hour Energy,'' claiming the energy drink caused her husband's fatal heart attack. An amended complaint - filed Aug. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in Memphis, Tenn. by Monica Hassell - says that Antonio Hassell began drinking the energy drink in June 2009 to help him stay awake at a warehouse where he worked the night shift, from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. He had a sudden heart attack while playing basketball on Aug. 2, 2009 in Memphis. Physicians at Delta Medical Center concluded that the ''5-Hour Energy'' drink, a mixture of caffeine and amino acids, ''was the cause of Mr. Hassell's cardiac event,'' the suit states. Antonio Hassell sustained anoxic encephalopathy and seizures, and died on March 1, 2010, leaving his wife and two young children. The suit names Innovation Ventures, LLC, doing business as Living Essentials, a Detroit company. It claims that the manufacturer failed to disclose increased risks of heart attacks and strokes caused by caffeine, taurine and other ingredients, in "5-Hour Energy." Health experts are concerned about the effects of non-alcoholic, highly caffeinated beverages, such as 5-Hour Energy and Red Bull. Published: Mon, Aug 30, 2010

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