The lawsuit indicates that P.W. was born at only 26 weeks gestation and weighed only two pounds and two ounces at the time of birth. Due to his underdevelopment, P.W. was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Unit, where he was fed Similac Special Care, his mother claims.
“Shortly after receiving the formula enterally, P.W. began to suffer from gastrointestinal issues, including intestinal rupturing and was diagnosed with NEC,” the lawsuit states. “This injury led P.W. to develop bowel problems and infection.”
Yates’ lawsuit indicates that Abbott Laboratories knew for years that its cow’s milk-based formulas increased the risk of NEC for preterm infants, but decided to risk the newborns’ lives in order to maintain its profit margins. The company has chosen to ignore numerous studies that have warned about the increased NEC risks over the years, particularly when compared with breast milk from mothers or human donors, the lawsuit claims.
“Despite the aforementioned science confirming the dangers of Defendant’s bovine product in causing NEC and death in premature infants, Defendant took no action to change its product, packaging, guidelines, instructions, and warnings,” Yate’s complaint notes. “Defendant continues to sell its bovine formulas and/or fortifiers commercially at retail locations and online.”
Yates presents claims of failure to warn, strict liability for defective product, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, breach of implied warranty, design defect and violation of Illinois consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices laws. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.
January 2025 Similac NEC Lawsuits Update
Yates’ lawsuit will be consolidated with other Similac NEC lawsuits and Enfamil NEC lawsuits being pursued in the federal court system, which have been centralized as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, before U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer in the Northern District of Illinois.
As part of the coordinated management of the federal litigation, Judge Pallmeyer previously established a “bellwether” program, where a small group of representative claims are being prepared for a series of early trial dates to help evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the cases, and facilitate potential NEC settlement discussions.
The first baby formula NEC bellwether trial is set to go before a jury on May 5, 2025. That will be followed by additional trials expected to begin on August 11, 2025, November 3, 2025, and February 2, 2026.
While the outcome of these early trials will not have any binding impact on NEC injury lawsuits being pursued by other families, the average payouts awarded by juries will likely have a substantial impact on the amount that Abbott and Mead Johnson may be required to pay in NEC injury settlements to avoid hundreds of additional claims going before juries.
If the parties fail to resolve the litigation following the federal bellwether trials, Judge Pallmeyer may start remanding dozens of individual claims back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for separate trial dates.