Abbott Faces New Lawsuits Related to Infant Formula
Abbott Laboratories is facing an increasing number of lawsuits concerning its contaminated infant formulas and its advertising of products as suitable for premature babies.
California Plaintiff Bought Potentially Contaminated Infant Formula
In the class action infant formula lawsuit, a California man claims that he began purchasing Abbott’s powdered infant formula in January 2022. He bought the formula from Target and Costco retail stores located in Granada Hills, California, paying about $8-12 for each one. He continued to purchase these formulas for about three months until he learned of the Abbott recall that took place on February 17, 2022.
On that day, Abbott recalled Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare powdered formulas manufactured in its Sturgis, Michigan facility, after four consumer complaints related to Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport infections in infants who had consumed powdered infant formulas manufactured at that facility.
Meanwhile, the plaintiff’s child had become irritable, displayed problems sleeping, and had discolored stool after consuming the formula, to the point that the plaintiff had to seek medical attention for the baby.
The plaintiff states in his complaint that after he learned of the recall, he confirmed that the products he had purchased matched the lots that had been recalled. When he bought them, he was unaware of any potential contamination issues. Instead, he bought them assuming that Abbott had labeled them correctly and that they were safe to use.
After the recall, reports surfaced that suggested Abbott knew about the potential for contamination long before it implemented the recall. Two U.S. Senators recently launched an inquiry into the matter, demanding answers as to why Abbott delayed the recall and failed to warn parents of the dangers.
The plaintiff seeks to represent all consumers who purchased the recalled formulas from April 1, 2021, to the present, as well as other similarly situated California consumers.
New York Mom Blames Similac NeoSure for Baby’s Serious Intestinal Disease
In a related case, a New York plaintiff recently filed an infant formula lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois. She claims that her baby suffered from severe and catastrophic injuries as a direct result of consuming Similac NeoSure, a cow’s milk-based nutrition product manufactured by Abbott.
The plaintiff gave birth to the child at 26 weeks and 3 days at the Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, New York in 2020. The baby weighed just 1.7 pounds at birth, classifying him as a very-low-birth-weight preterm infant. He was unable to breathe on his own and required resuscitation in the delivery room. He was then transferred to the NICU for further care.
While there, the Good Samaritan hospital staff fed the infant Similac NeoSure, which is advertised as being suitable for preterm infants. Within days, he developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a dangerous intestinal infection requiring him to undergo critical surgeries in September 2020, October 2020, and December 2020.
He lost a substantial amount of his intestines via these surgeries, which has contributed to developmental delays and failure to thrive and will affect him for the rest of his life. The plaintiff was never informed that Similac NeoSure or other similar cow’s milk-based formulas could increase the risk of NEC, as shown in multiple scientific studies. She seeks compensatory and punitive damages.