A nationwide lawsuit against energy drink companies was filed Monday through the Morgan and Morgan law firm.

The first lawsuit targets the Monster Beverage Corporation for alleged health complications from drinking their products. The law firm said this litigation isn’t just seeking monetary damages, but is aiming to change the labels on all energy drinks.

Printed on the back of a colorful can of Monster Energy are ingredients for a Monster Energy Blend. There are stimulants like taurine, guarana and caffeine, but you won’t see how much of these make up the blend.

“If a consumer can make a knowledgeable choice, that’s OK, that’s on them, but when you hide information, when you don’t disclose information, that’s on the company producing it,” attorney Mike Morgan said.

It’s the basis for an estimated 100 lawsuits that Morgan & Morgan is preparing to file across the country for consumers ranging from 14 to 42, who allege some serious health complications from the energy drinks.

The first lawsuit states 43-year-old Joel Rine consumed an average of six Monster Energy drinks a day and suffered a stroke.

“Mr. Rine has sufferd from impairments to his vision, he now walks with a limp, his speech has been significantly slurred, all things you don’t expect from an otherwise normal, healthy, 43-year-old,” attorney Andrew Felix said.

Dr. Timothy Hendrix of CentraCare said that is an excessive intake of caffeine.

“It wasn’t just that one time, it’s that routine of that daily amount of caffeine,” Dr. Hendrix said. “It’s not a healthy amount.”

However, attorneys at Morgan & Morgan are arguing that companies like Monster Energy, should be doing more to protect their consumers, by providing warning labels about dosages and long-term effects.

“Our goal is that consumers are given the knowledge they need to make a reasonable choice and to make an informed decision,” Morgan said.

“I think it’s excessive to put a warning label on these,” Dr. Hendrix said. “I just think as a first step, we need to have accurate labeling of the contents and what’s in there and what those things do.”

This is not the first time litigation has been brought against Monster Energy and other companies for similar claims. In many cases, the companies settled out of court.

“I believe that the reason these things settle, and the reason these things continue to go away without the public ever knowing about what was found out – what was disclosed, why these documents remain confidential, is they don’t want it out there,” Morgan said. “We want to bring it out.”

Something that will take some time as the attorneys seek out more plaintiffs to make their case.

Monster Beverage Corporation released the following statement regarding the lawsuit: 

Monster Energy Company

Response to Attorney’s Press Release

Joel Rine v. Monster Energy

February 8, 2016

The lawsuit filed today by Joel Rine against Monster Energy Company is a copy-cat case filed by personal injury lawyers (in conjunction with the same attorney who filed prior cases) trying to make a cottage industry out of suing energy drink companies.  There is no merit in the case whatsoever, and Monster will vigorously defend it.  As the case progresses, it will likely be revealed that Mr. Rine (43) suffered from preexisting health conditions that caused his injuries—completely unrelated to consumption of a Monster Energy drink.

Monster Energy drinks contain approximately 10 mg of caffeine per ounce from all sources (including guarana).  A 16 oz. Monster Energy drink contains less than half the caffeine contained in a medium Starbucks coffee.

More than 50 billion energy drinks have been sold and safely consumed worldwide for more than 25 years. More than 14 billion Monster Energy drinks have been sold and safely consumed worldwide for more than 13 years.

Personal injury lawyers actively seek unwitting individuals to file lawsuits.  Unfortunately, they engage in fear mongering based on false facts and a disregard for science.

While critics have inaccurately portrayed some ingredients as novel and untested, ingredients such as taurine, l-carnitine and inositol have been included in infant formulas for decades for their nutritional benefit.  In fact, taurine naturally exists in the body and acts to protect heart muscle.

In 2012, the FDA stated, “the FDA has yet to identify any safety studies that call into question the safety of combinations of various ingredients added to ‘energy drinks’ under intended conditions of use.”

In 2013, Health Canada (Canada’s FDA counterpart) found there to be no immediate safety concerns with respect to caffeinated energy drinks.

In 2015, the European Food Safety Authority (Europe’s FDA counterpart) again confirmed the safety of caffeine in combination with other ingredients commonly found in energy drinks.

There is much false information in prior media stories that continues to be repeated by personal injury lawyers, and then by journalists, who are unaware that those facts have been proved false.  However, because this is a pending case, what can be stated at this time is limited, and Monster will continue to prove its case in court.

Monster is confident in the safety of its products and stands by them.