Abbott Laboratories must pay $495 million in damages to a family whose premature baby suffered from life-altering complications caused by Similac cows’ milk formula. This was the second NEC verdict to be announced in 2024. In March 2024, another family was awarded with $60 million in damages.
The plaintiff was an Illinois mother who had given birth mere hours before her 26-week-old daughter developed Necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening intestinal infection that mostly affects premature and low-weight infants. The baby suffered from permanent brain and intestinal damage while in the NICU, and she will need to have a full-time caretaker for the rest of her life.
According to the plaintiff, Abbott failed to warn parents that its cows’ milk baby formula could cause premature babies to develop NEC. The Missouri jury agreed with her claim, ordering Abbott to pay $95 million in compensatory damages and, notably, $400 million in punitive damages. Because the punitive damages were so high, this is now the largest verdict in the NEC lawsuit to date.
The Future of the NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit
Before this year, there wasn’t much traction in the NEC baby formula lawsuit. There were about 500 active cases, but no settlements or trial verdicts had been announced.
Now, after this recent Similac settlement, the NEC lawsuit’s future looks a lot brighter. In 2024 alone, plaintiffs were awarded $555 million from Abbott and Reckitt Benckiser, the manufacturer of Enfamil baby formula. This success for plaintiffs will likely encourage other families to join the fight in holding Abbott and Reckitt accountable for their lack of transparency. Legal experts suggest that a settlement could be on the horizon not too far in the future, especially if the lawsuit continues to grow like it has been.
With so much momentum behind the NEC baby formula lawsuit, now’s the perfect time to see how much compensation your family could be entitled to. If your premature baby needed major surgery or developed sepsis after being diagnosed with NEC, get a free case review to see if you qualify to join the lawsuit.