AKRON, Ohio — Amazon has won its appeal in a lawsuit filed by the parents of a LaGrange teen who died after ingesting excessive amounts of caffeine purchased through the retail online giant.
A unanimous 9th District Court of Appeals this week sided with a Lorain County judge who earlier dismissed the lawsuit brought by the family of Logan Stiner, 18, who died in May 2014.
An autopsy found the Keystone High School senior had ingested excessive amounts of a caffeine powder. The powder caused Logan to have a cardiac arrhythmia and a seizure.
In addition to Amazon, the teen’s parents, Katie and Dennis Stiner, sued the caffeine manufacturer and distributor. Those claims were previously resolved in Lorain County Common Pleas Court, court records show.
Amazon was the lone remaining defendant in a long and contentious court battle.
Court records show that a friend of Stiner searched Amazon online for a “pre-workout” supplement and bought the one-pound package of Hard Rhino powder caffeine directly from The Bulk Source, which had an agreement to list its products on Amazon.
The friend then shared the powder with Stiner, a wrestler at the high school. He later died at his home of acute caffeine toxicity, court records show. According to the FDA, a teaspoon of caffeine is equal to drinking 28 cups of coffee.
The lawsuit against Amazon was dismissed by the judge because of a lack of evidence showing Amazon directly sold the caffeine that Stiner was given. The family also sued over product liability claims.
At the time of Stiner's death, there were no restrictions on the sale of caffeine. Since then, the Federal Food and Drug Administration has issued safety alerts and a ban on sales.
