Toxic Baby Formula lawsuits have been on the increase, with more and more parents coming forward to report serious health problems in their children after using certain baby formulas.
The main target of these lawsuits has been Abbott Laboratories, the manufacturer of a baby formula called Similac, and Mead Johnson, the manufacturer of Enfamil formula.
NEC, or Necrotizing Enterocolitis, is a serious and potentially fatal condition that can occur in infants.
These NEC formula lawsuits allege that the companies didn’t alert parents to the dangers of their products.
The Toxic Baby Formula NEC lawsuit is a class action lawsuit brought primarily against the manufacturers of Similac and Enfamil baby formula.
The suit alleges that the companies knew or should have known that their products were potentially harmful to premature babies and infants and failed to warn consumers of the risks.
The infant formula lawsuits seek damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses suffered by the parents of affected infants.
If you are the parent or guardian of a child who was born prematurely and/or suffered from NEC, you may be eligible to file a claim in this lawsuit.
If you have any questions about the legal procedure, open our chatbot below for a case evaluation.
Civil lawsuits involving premature babies suffering from NEC began to be filed in state and federal courts as early as 2015, where one mother filed a case reporting that her baby developed NEC and brain damage after being fed Enfamil.
The Toxic Baby Formula lawsuit became a class action lawsuit, with thousands of parents claiming against baby formula manufacturers.
Premature babies are often fed cow milk formulas instead of human breast milk, and some of these formulas have caused many premature infants to develop NEC due to their underdeveloped digestive systems.
The main formula brands involved in the Toxic Baby Formula lawsuit are Enfamil and Similac, along with some other lesser-known brands.
These companies create formulas for infants and babies who cannot take breast milk for varying reasons, and these products are often given to infants in hospitals.
The baby formula lawsuit claims that these companies knew that their products could cause NEC in premature babies due to their cow milk-based formula, yet they never issued any kind of warnings to parents or hospitals.
The Toxic Baby Formula lawsuits involve a few different brands of formula milk, but the main manufacturers at fault are Mead Johnson’s Enfamil and Abbott Laboratories’ Similac.
As mentioned previously, the Enfamil and Similac cow-milk-based formulas have been linked to NEC, yet the products were never labelled with warnings.
These companies make formulas that are often given to premature babies in hospitals who can’t suckle on breast milk – making the impact all the more devasting for parents who believed their children were receiving high-quality medical attention.
Enfamil is a cow-milk-based formula that can be taken instead of breast milk, and it is made by Mead Johnson.
Mead Johnson is a subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser, which is a British company.
Enfamil is one of the most popular formulas on the market, and its infant formula milk is given to premature babies around the world, but especially in the U.S.
Enfamil has faced various lawsuits in 2022 – not only is it undergoing severe scrutiny and facing NEC lawsuits, but the company has also been sued for false advertising.
The claims were that Enfamil’s advertising misled parents into thinking that the formula could make more milk for their babies than was actually the case.
Unlike the Toxic Baby Formula lawsuits, the class action lawsuit against Mead Johnson has now been settled, with a maximum of $8.4 million to be paid out to the plaintiffs.
Under the terms of this particular settlement, Mead Johnson will make permanent changes to how it labels Enfamil products that were named in the lawsuit.
There seems to be a correlation between premature babies who developed NEC and the Enfamil infant formula, and this could be for various reasons.
Premature infants have an increased risk of contracting NEC since their gut, and digestive tract is still immature in comparison to non-premature babies.
Some Enfamil formulas contain maltodextrin, a carbohydrate derived from starches that are commonly used as a thickener or filler in various food products.
This, along with other ingredients, can be difficult for premature infants to digest and may contribute to the development of NEC.
Mead Johnson, the company that manufactures Enfamil, denies that its products are to blame for any babies developing NEC.
They claim that there is no scientific evidence to support the assertion that their products are dangerous and that even babies fed breast milk can contract NEC.
While Enfamil itself may not be toxic, it can pose threats to premature infants in particular.
Some research suggests that formula milk leads to necrotizing enterocolitis because of the composition of infant formula, how fast the baby drinks it, or the underdeveloped state of the intestines’ mucous membranes.
Although it’s true that babies fed breast milk can still develop this condition, studies show that the rate is much lower among breastfed babies.
Similac is a popular brand of infant formula products owned by Abbott Laboratories, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
The Similac brand offers a variety of formulas for different feeding needs, including products for premature babies who can’t have their mother’s breast milk or who have special dietary requirements such as allergies or intolerances.
In recent years, the Similac brand has been embroiled in controversy after several lawsuits were filed alleging that its cow’s milk formulas were the direct cause of NEC health problems in infants.
Necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when the tissue in the intestine becomes inflamed and starts to die.
This can lead to a hole in the intestine, sepsis (a potentially fatal infection of the blood), and even death.
It’s believed that premature infants who intake cow milk formulas are more likely to develop NEC than those who feed on human breast milk since their intestines are not fully developed and are more susceptible to inflammation.
NEC is most common in premature babies, but it can also occur in full-term infants.
The condition is typically diagnosed when a baby starts showing signs of distress, such as vomiting, bloating, bloody stools, and decreased appetite.
If your baby is exhibiting any of these symptoms, it’s important to take them to the doctor right away for a diagnosis.
There is no definitive cause of NEC, but there are several risk factors have been identified.
These include being born prematurely, having a low birth weight, being fed cow milk-based formulas, and having a weakened immune system.
While there is no sure way to prevent NEC, there are steps that can be taken, including feeding the baby breast milk if possible, avoiding certain trigger foods, and keeping their immune system strong.
As of October 2022, the schedule and protocol for selecting bellwether cases in the NEC class action lawsuit are well underway.
Bellwether cases are chosen to get a feel for how juries might react to certain evidence and which issues they find important.
The plaintiffs and defendants have given the judge a list of 66 cases that are still pending, from which the court could choose one at random to become the first NEC lawsuit to go to trial.
The trial will progress to the next stage, pretrial discovery, with 12 cases that have been selected as bellwethers.
The pretrial discovery phase involves both sides gathering information and evidence from the other party through means such as depositions, document production, and interrogatories.
This process can be lengthy, so it is still unclear when the first NEC trial will actually take place.
Then, four cases will be chosen for preliminary bellwether test trials.
The plaintiffs and defendants will each choose four cases from the group of 12, and then the court will randomly select the final four cases.
All this will likely be completed by November 23, 2022.
The initial bellwether test trials will include four out of the twelve cases from the discovery phase.
The plaintiffs and defendants each get to choose two cases for the trial.
There will be a total of four bellwether trials taking place every twelve weeks, switching off between plaintiff and defendant-selected cases.
The average time frame for a toxic Baby Formula NEC lawsuit can vary depending on the specifics of your case.
Baby formula lawsuits, in which the plaintiff attempts to make the manufacturer responsible for any health problems their dangerous or defective product caused, are frequently complicated cases.
A comprehensive discovery phase is commonly necessary to give both sides time to collect pertinent information.
The plaintiff needs a complete diagnosis of the health problems caused by exposure to toxic baby formula, as well as an itemized list of damages and losses.
The amount of time a baby formula lawsuit lasts is how quickly the plaintiff and defendant can settle.
NEC baby formula lawyers are still speculating on the settlement amounts of the Toxic Baby Formula lawsuits.
This is because there have been so many infants who have been injured by these formulas, and the medical bills for even one child can be quite high.
Additionally, many of these children could require lifelong care, which will add to the overall cost of the lawsuit.
These cases will likely have the highest settlements, seeing as lifelong care may entail millions of dollars.
The next highest amount of money in settlements will come from wrongful death cases, where the baby passed away due to NEC from the toxic baby formula.
These parents could receive up to $750,000 in compensation for their loss, as well as punitive damages against the companies.
Finally, there will be those infants who survived NEC but still have long-term effects from the disease and who suffered a lot along the way.
These children will have the third highest settlements, potentially ranging from $50,000 to $400,000.
There are a few criteria that must be met in order to qualify for an NEC Baby Formula lawsuit.
First of all, your baby must have been born before completing its full term – in other words, it must be a premature infant.
Secondly, it must be proven that the baby was fed with a powdered or pre-mixed Enfamil or Similac formula while hospitalized.
Thirdly, your premature baby must have a diagnosis of the following:
Every state has a law, known as the statute of limitations, that requires lawsuits to be filed within a certain time period from the date of the incident.
The majority of lawsuits against manufacturers are product liability cases, which means that the case is based on an injury caused by a product.
The large majority of U.S. states have a statute of limitations for product liability cases that falls between two (2) and ten (10) years, with most falling on the lower end of that spectrum with just a two-year window.
The time limit for taking legal action, known as the statute of limitations, is usually shorter for wrongful death lawsuits than for product liability cases.
In these cases, most states give you two years from the date of death to file a lawsuit.
No, your baby does not need to be diagnosed with NEC in order to file a claim.
NEC is a serious condition that can lead to death, but it is not the only condition that can be caused by Enfamil or Similac formula.
If your baby was premature and fed Enfamil or Similac while in the hospital and then developed any of the conditions mentioned in the list above, you may be eligible to file a claim.
Not sure if you qualify for this lawsuit? Use our chat below for instant case evaluation.
Despite the NEC Baby Formula lawsuit, no Enfamil baby formula milk has been officially recalled in 2022.
Nevertheless, there have been recalls in earlier years for various other reasons.
For example, 505 cases of Enfamil EnfaCare LIPIL were recalled in 2004 because of possible contamination with Enterobacter sakazakii (now known as Cronobacter sakazakii), a type of bacteria.
If acquired by newborns, this condition can cause dangerous conditions like meningitis and NEC.
4.6 million containers of Enfamil Nutramigen were recalled in 2001 because the product’s Spanish-language preparation instructions were incorrect, putting babies at risk of seizures, irregular heartbeat and even death.
A serious case in 2006 involved the recalling of all Gentlease products after some of them were found to have 2.7mm long metal shards inside the formula.
In 2011, certain stores, including Kroger and Walmart, recalled Enfamil products following the death of two babies from suspected contamination of the formula milk.
More recently, in 2018, CVS recalled all Enfamil products from their shelves after a container in one of their stores was found to have been tampered with.
Like Enfamil, Similac formulas may not be inherently toxic, but they can cause complications with low-birth-weight infants and premature babies.
Again, this is likely due to the use of cow’s milk-based proteins in the formulas, which can be difficult for these babies to digest.
In addition, the sugars found in cow’s milk (lactose) may also act as a food source for bacteria in the gut, leading to an overgrowth of harmful bacteria and an increased risk of NEC in premature infants with weak digestive systems.
If you are the parent of an infant who was diagnosed with NEC after being fed Similac or Enfamil baby formula, you may be eligible to join the lawsuit.
If you have already incurred medical bills or other out-of-pocket expenses as a result of your child’s NEC diagnosis, you may be able to recover those costs as well.
Find out more by using our chatbot service.
Along with the symptoms discussed earlier, other possible effects of NEC include:
Necrotizing enterocolitis is a grave condition that most often affects premature babies.
There have been very few reported cases of necrotizing enterocolitis in adults, but it is possible for adults to develop the condition.
Necrotizing enterocolitis is a medical emergency and can be fatal if not treated promptly, and adult symptoms include severe abdominal pain, bloody stools, and throwing up food.
Although many premature infants may survive NEC, the disease can cause long-term problems.
Long-term effects of NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis) may include, but are not limited to:
Intestinal strictures are the narrowing of the intestine, which can lead to a blockage.
This may require surgery to open up the intestine.
Other long-term gastrointestinal complications include adhesion, which is when the intestines stick to each other, and fistulas, which are abnormal connections between different parts of the intestine.
NEC can cause developmental delays, both physical and cognitive.
Physical developmental delays may include problems with movement and coordination.
For example, an infant may have difficulty sitting up or crawling.
Cognitive developmental delays may include problems with learning, thinking, and problem-solving.
NEC can also cause feeding difficulties.
An infant may have trouble sucking or swallowing, which can make it difficult to eat by mouth.
They may need to be fed through a tube that goes through the nose and into the stomach (nasogastric tube) or directly into the stomach through a surgical opening (gastrostomy).
As mentioned previously, NEC can cause organ damage, particularly to the intestines.
In severe cases, NEC may even lead to death.
Even with treatment, some infants may have long-term gastrointestinal problems or need lifelong assistance with feeding due to organ failures.
NEC can stunt a child’s growth.
Children who survive NEC are often smaller than their peers.
They may also have problems gaining weight and growing at a normal rate.
Malabsorption is when the intestine cannot absorb enough nutrients from food.
This can cause poor growth, diarrhoea, and weight loss and is more common in premature infants who have had a part of their intestine removed.
Short bowel syndrome is when the intestine is too short to function properly.
This can be caused by surgery to remove a section of the intestine.
Short bowel syndrome can sometimes lead to malnutrition, dehydration, and weight loss.
Although not all baby formulas seem to cause NEC in premature babies, these infants have an increased risk of developing it.
After analyzing the evidence, researchers have concluded that premature infants who ingest cow milk formula are more likely to develop NEC compared to full-term babies.
This presents a problem for infants placed in neonatal intensive care units, as a majority of these units use these cow milk-based formulas to replace human milk when mothers are unable to breastfeed.
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) occurs in about 1 out of 1000 of all infants who are born prematurely, with risks being higher for babies weighing less than 2 pounds.
In contrast, NEC only affects around 1 in 10,000 full-term infants.
NEC is a serious disease with a high mortality rate, ranging from 10-50%, depending on the severity of the disease.
Cronobacter sakazakii is a foodborne pathogen that occurs naturally in the environment, and it can cause serious infections in infants.
It tends to live in very dry places, like powdered infant formula, herbal teas, starches and powdered milk.
Although uncommon, Cronobacter infections can be severe and even fatal in infants under 12 months old.
The elderly, people with weakened immune systems and those who have chronic illnesses are also at risk for more severe infections.
Cronobacter sakazakii can cause NEC, but it is not the only bacteria that have been linked to the disease.
This bacteria has been found in powdered infant formula, which is why it is important for parents to be alerted to the risks associated with using this type of formula.
NEC can also be caused by other bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
In certain cases, Cronobacter sakazakii can enter the infant’s gastrointestinal tract through contaminated water or food.
Once the bacteria are in the intestines, they can attach to the intestinal wall and begin to multiply.
This can lead to inflammation and, in severe cases, the death of intestinal tissue.
Cronobacter can cause other illnesses as well as NEC, such as sepsis and meningitis, which are both potentially fatal.
Parents need to be aware of the symptoms of these illnesses so that they can seek medical help if their child becomes ill.
No, the Baby Formula Lawsuits are not multidistrict litigation lawsuits.
The cases have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings, but each case will still be tried individually.
A multidistrict lawsuit is one where there is one central lawsuit with many plaintiffs, and the outcome of that lawsuit will determine the outcome of all the individual cases.
These Baby Formula Lawsuits are not like that; each case will be decided on its own merits.
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has decided not to consolidate the baby formula cases into an MDL, and each case will still be its own entity and ‘defendant specific.’
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