A South Texas family says an energy drink that’s popular among social media influencers and young women caused their teen daughter’s death from a heart attack last fall. Now, the family is suing one of the beverage brand’s distributors, alleging they failed to warn consumers of an unsafe product.
In a news conference held on the steps of the Hidalgo County Courthouse on Wednesday, attorneys for the family explained how Larissa Rodriguez routinely consumed the festively packaged Alani Nu Energy Drinks, including in the days leading up to her death. Each drink contains 200 milligrams of caffeine — more than twice the amount found in an average cup of coffee — along with several other ingredients that allegedly “amplify” the effects of caffeine. For an adolescent, such effects can be deadly, the family’s lawyers argue. Read on below for a full breakdown of the lawsuit.
Larissa Rodriguez was a 17-year-old cheerleader, beauty pageant contestant, tennis player and star student at Weslaco High School, located in the Mid-Valley. She had been accepted to 20 colleges, including the University of Texas at Austin. She was the only daughter of Jennifer A. Rodriguez and Roberto Rodriguez Jr.
According to the findings of a local coroner, Larissa’s heart was severely damaged by her caffeine consumption, causing her to suffer “a fatal cardiac event” shortly after homecoming.
“The Hidalgo County Medical Examiner determined that Larissa Rodriguez’s cause of death was cardiomyopathy caused by excessive caffeine consumption,” the lawsuit reads.
The coroner found no other trace of harmful substances.
“There’s no alcohol, there’s no drugs, there’s no fentanyl. There’s no synthetic drugs,” Benny Agosto Jr., one of the attorneys representing the family, said Wednesday.
The family is suing Glazer’s Beer and Beverage LLC, a company that in 2024 opened a massive new distribution center in Weslaco. Larissa, who was then serving with the “Miss Texas Onion Fest,” participated in the company’s ribbon-cutting event on behalf of the Weslaco Chamber of Commerce. Glazer’s distributes Alani to local stores, including H-E-B, where Larissa and her family purchased the energy drinks. The lawsuit does not, however, name Alani Nu Energy Drinks as a defendant.
The lawsuit claims Alani knowingly targets young women through a network of influencers who promote the drinks as a “‘better-for-you’ wellness and lifestyle beverage” without adequate warnings about the dangers of high caffeine doses.
“The only cautionary language on the can —’Not recommended for children under 18, those sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women’ — is printed in small, inconspicuous text that is… wholly inadequate to warn consumers of the serious risks of cardiac injury and death,” the lawsuit reads.
As the drink’s distributor, Glazer’s was liable for the “foreseeable risk” of injury — especially to children — that Alani posed, the lawsuit further claims.