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A Chicago jury has ordered Abbott Laboratories to pay $53 million in compensatory damages to four families who claimed the company failed to adequately warn that its premature infant formula could trigger a life-threatening bowel condition. The verdict, delivered in Cook County circuit court, marks another significant development in the growing wave of litigation surrounding cow's milk-based formulas designed for preterm newborns.
The four consolidated lawsuits center on necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC — a severe intestinal disease that predominantly affects premature babies and carries a mortality rate exceeding 20%. The affected children, born in Chicago-area hospitals between 2012 and 2019, all survived NEC but continue to experience lasting health complications, with three having undergone surgery. The jury was set to reconvene to deliberate on additional punitive damages.
Abbott, the maker of Similac, has consistently denied that its specialized hospital-grade formula causes NEC, arguing the product is critical for premature infants when mothers cannot produce sufficient breast milk. A 2024 joint report from U.S. regulatory agencies and a National Institutes of Health working group concluded that available evidence points to the absence of breast milk — rather than formula exposure itself — as the factor linked to higher NEC incidence.
Abbott is not alone in facing legal pressure. Mead Johnson, the Reckitt-owned manufacturer of Enfamil, faces similar claims, with nearly 1,000 combined lawsuits filed against both companies. Over 700 cases are consolidated in Illinois federal court, though no federal trials have proceeded, with a judge dismissing three of four bellwether cases.
Trial outcomes have been inconsistent. Previous verdicts against both companies have reached into the hundreds of millions, while at least one defense win was later set aside due to attorney misconduct. Abbott's CEO has warned the litigation could threaten the availability of these specialized products altogether.
