Abbott hit with $53 million infant formula verdict

A Cook County jury in Chicago has ordered Abbott Laboratories to pay $53 million in compensatory damages to four families who alleged that the company’s formula for premature infants led to a dangerous intestinal disease. The verdict, reached Thursday after a monthlong trial and a little more than a day of deliberation, is the latest development in wide‑ranging litigation over Abbott’s cow’s milk-based products for preterm babies.

The cases were brought by mothers Antonia Mendez, Casie Thompson, Kara Sharpe and Eboni Williams, whose children were born before 32 weeks gestation at Chicago-area hospitals between 2012 and 2019. The children developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a disease in which the lining of the intestine becomes inflamed and dies.

Jurors found Abbott liable on three counts for each child: that the formula was defectively designed, that the company failed to adequately warn about its dangers and risks, and that Abbott was negligent. According to reports, the jury concluded Abbott knew its cow’s milk-based formula could lead to NEC in premature babies yet continued to market it to hospitals.

The $53 million compensatory award covers pain and suffering and loss of a normal life among other damages. Two of the children are to receive $15 million each, one is to receive $16 million and a fourth is to receive $7 million. The children survived NEC, but three required surgery as infants and all continue to experience gastrointestinal issues, according to court filings and statements made during trial.

The jury is scheduled to reconvene on Friday to determine whether Abbott must pay punitive damages in addition to the compensatory award. Media reports describe the $53 million as the minimum amount Abbott now faces, with any punitive damages to be decided in the next phase of the proceedings.

An Abbott spokesperson did not provide comment by the time of publication of several reports. The company has maintained that its specialized formula for premature infants does not cause NEC and that the products are essential for premature babies when mothers cannot produce sufficient breast milk.

The Cook County ruling is described as another blow for Abbott amid a wave of lawsuits over whether its premature-infant formula and human milk fortifiers contribute to NEC. Abbott, which makes Similac formulas, faces more than 1,700 similar cases nationwide related to NEC and its preterm products, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Nearly 1,000 lawsuits have been filed against Abbott and Mead Johnson, a unit of Reckitt that makes Enfamil, with others proceeding in state courts in Illinois, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The four Cook County cases are the first to go to trial in Illinois state court; two prior trials elsewhere resulted in one $495 million verdict against Abbott and one win for the company.

The litigation centers on cow’s milk-based formulas and fortifiers made specifically for hospital use in premature infants, not ordinary consumer formula. Plaintiffs argue that Abbott failed to adequately warn that these products can lead to NEC, which has an estimated mortality rate of more than 20% and mostly affects premature newborns.

Abbott and Mead Johnson have said that while breast milk protects against NEC, their formulas do not cause the disease and that the benefits of breast milk have long been known to clinicians. During the Cook County trial, an Abbott attorney cited research showing an association between cow’s milk-based preterm formulas and higher rates of NEC, while arguing that such an association does not establish that the formula causes NEC.

Amid the mounting litigation, Abbott CEO Robert Ford has previously suggested that the company’s preterm products might become unavailable because of the lawsuits. Doctors have expressed concern that such a move could reduce nutritional options for premature babies if it were to occur.

In 2024, U.S. regulatory agencies and a working group of scientists convened by the National Institutes of Health said in a joint report that current evidence supports the hypothesis that the absence of breast milk, rather than exposure to formula, is associated with increased incidence of NEC. The Cook County verdict now adds legal pressure on Abbott as scientific and regulatory discussions over NEC and infant nutrition continue.