New trial ordered in Similac and Enfamil premature infant formula lawsuit

Update:

• A Missouri federal judge has ordered a new trial for Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson over claims they failed to warn a mother about the risk that her premature infant could develop necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) from their specialized baby formulas, overturning their previous legal victory.
• A St. Louis jury ruled last year that Abbott and Mead were not to blame for a preterm infant developing NEC, a severe gastrointestinal disease. 
• The jury found the plaintiffs in the case failed to prove their son developed the disease from being fed the Similac and Enfamil baby formulas while in the hospital. 
• The judge ruled on March 13, 2025, that the previous trial defense “intentionally violated the court’s orders and rulings” by repeatedly and improperly introducing inadmissible evidence to the jury.
• A spokesperson for Abbott told Law360 that the company plans to file an appeal of the decision and expects the verdict to be reinstated. 
• Parents whose premature infants developed NEC after using Similac or Enfamil formulas still have time to file an NEC lawsuit and seek compensation for their child’s injuries.

Baby formula trial overview: 

• Who: A St. Louis jury sided with Abbott Laboratories, Mead Johnson and the St. Louis Children’s Hospital during a trial involving claims that Abbott and Mead’s cow’s milk-based baby formulas caused a preterm infant to develop necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). 
• Why: The jury ruled the plaintiffs failed to prove their son —  who suffered from health challenges as a preterm infant — got NEC from the baby formula he was fed at the hospital. Nearly 1,000 NEC baby formula lawsuits have been filed against the formula makers
• Where: The trial was in the 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri.

A St. Louis jury ruled cow’s milk-based Similac and Enfamil baby formulas produced by Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson are not to blame for a preterm infant developing necrotizing enterocolitis, a severe gastrointestinal disease.

The jury’s decision marked the end of a five-week joint trial involving claims Abbott and Mead’s respective baby formulas caused Kaine Whitfield to develop necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in the weeks after his birth in August 2017, reports Law360. 

Counsel for Whitfield — who allegedly suffers from permanent challenges due to short bowel syndrome caused by NEC — reportedly sought $6 billion in punitive damages and $277 million in compensatory damages. 

Lawyers for Abbott, meanwhile, reportedly argued counsel for the now-7-year-old failed to prove he would not have contracted NEC had he not consumed its baby formula, given the challenges he faced as a preterm infant. 

Defense expert argues severe anemia caused the preterm infant to develop NEC

Whitfield, who reportedly was born at 27 weeks and 5 days’ gestation at a weight of only 1,140 grams, was in the NICU for 16 days prior to contracting NEC, with 13 of those days allegedly spent on antibiotics.  

The expert for the defense in the baby formula trial testified that a case of severe anemia was ultimately what caused Whitfield to contract NEC, however, reports Law360. 

The baby formula trial was reportedly the first joint trial for Abbott and Mead involving the baby formula claims, which have led to nearly a thousand NEC injury complaints. 

A Missouri jury previously awarded $495 million in damages to the parents of a premature baby during a bellwether trial over claims Abbott’s cow’s milk-based Similac baby formula caused the infant to develop NEC. 

Mead, meanwhile, was hit with a $60 million verdict during its first trial over the NEC baby formula claims. 

Did your preterm baby develop necrotizing enterocolitis after consuming cow’s milk-based baby formula? Learn more about the alleged link between NEC and infant formula.

The NEC baby formula trial was for Whitfield v. Abbott, et al., Case No. 2222-CC06214, in the 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri. 

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