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The family of Larissa Rodríguez, a 17-year-old from Weslaco, Texas, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Glazer's Beer and Beverage, the distributor of the energy drink Alani Nu, following the teenager's death in October 2025 due to a fatal cardiac event, reported Telemundo.
Larissa was in her last year of high school in Weslaco, where she was a cheerleader and president of the student council. She dreamed of studying Law at the University of Texas and had just two months left until she turned 18 when she passed away.
The medical examiner of Hidalgo County determined that the cause of death was cardiomyopathy caused by excessive caffeine consumption. The autopsy revealed that the young woman's heart was enlarged and that she had an excess of caffeine in her system.
The family's lawyer, Benny Agosto Jr., explained that the forensic results took everyone by surprise: "The lawsuit is based on our findings that there were no heart problems, and the coroner's report was unexpected for them. The only thing found was an enlarged heart, cardiomegaly, which means the heart has swollen, and an excess of caffeine in his system."
According to the lawsuit, Larissa frequently consumed the drink Alani Nu during the last year of her life and purchased one or more cans at an H-E-B store in Hidalgo County days before her death.
The drink was so popular in her circle that a classmate used a can to ask her to the welcome dance with the message: "I hope you have the energy to go to the welcome dance with me."
Each 12-ounce can of Alani Nu contains 200 mg of caffeine, which is double the daily recommended limit of 100 mg for adolescents aged 12 to 17 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
According to ABC, the lawsuit alleges that the product labels only indicated in small print that it was not recommended for minors, without specifying a maximum daily intake limit or warning about the effects of combining the stimulants it contains: caffeine, guarana, and ginseng.
Larissa's mother expressed it clearly: "The bottle says it's not recommended, but it doesn't say you can't drink it. It says children. My daughter is 17 years old. Two months away from turning 18."
The lawsuit also accuses Glazer's of engaging in "wellness-centered" marketing that promoted excessive consumption among young people.
A doctor consulted by Telemundo warned about the risks of these drinks: "Many of these energy drink contents have the equivalent of four or five cups of coffee in one serving, and we don’t consume them in one go."
Glazer's Beer and Beverage stated that it regretted the young woman's death but could not comment due to the ongoing litigation.
The case is part of a broader debate on the regulation of these beverages in the United States, where the Food and Drug Administration does not have specific regulations limiting caffeine levels in energy drinks.
Visits to emergency rooms by adolescents due to adverse effects of caffeine doubled in the country between 2017 and 2023, and calls to poison control centers regarding caffeine in individuals under 20 years old increased by more than 20% in 2023.
There are similar precedents: in 2012, the family of Alex Morris, a 19-year-old from California who consumed two cans of Monster Energy a day, sued following his death from cardiac arrest; and a family from Maryland did the same after the death of their 14-year-old daughter from the same cause.
Larissa's mother hopes that the lawsuit will serve as a warning: "If this can help families understand that this is indeed a harm, and not just something else, it is already powerful. My daughter is helping and honoring the young woman who dreamed of becoming a lawyer."
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