Brooklyn Man Allegedly Killed from Drinking Red Bull: Family Files $85 Million Lawsuit

Energy drinks can often pose dangerous threats to overall health.

With the recent death of Brooklyn native, Cory Terry, 33, a regular drinker of the energy drink Red Bull, his family has filed an $85 million wrongful death lawsuit against the company that produces the highly caffeinated energy drink on Monday.

"He drank that stuff all the time," Patricia Terry, his grandmother said, via the The New York Daily News. "He said it perked him up." 

According to Food World News, Terry's Lawyer, Ilya Novofastovsky, said that Red Bull contains "extra stimulants that make it different than a cup of coffee," and thus, can be more dangerous and potentially life-threatening than the company suggests.

The Daily News notes that in 2011, Terry drank Red Bull approximately 45 minutes before he collapsed and died during a basketball game. His father said he was a non-smoker and exercised often, with no genetic or undiagnosed illness that could have led to such a premature death.

However, despite the recent suit, Red Bull still claims that their product "provides no more energy than a cup of coffee or a caffeine pill."

As other energy drink companies have come under fire for deaths connected to energy drinks that claim to give you an extra jolt, many are beginning to wonder just how save these beverages are--no matter what they may say about the amount of caffeine contained in the products.

The Daily News notes that between 2004 and 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration received 21 reports from health officials connecting Red Bull to various health symptoms, including dizziness, chest pain and fatigue.

As energy drinks may be used more by students and athletes, in particular, with the promise that they'll provide extra energy for stressful situations or help with physical-endurance, Novofastovsky notes that it's rather surprising that Red Bull and other energy drink companies don't do a better job putting warning labels on their products.

However, Dr. Daniel Fabricant, the director of the Division of Dietary Supplement Programs at the FDA, said the agency was still researching the effects of the drinks before labeling was issued.

What do you think?