Four complaints filed on behalf of mothers whose premature infants developed necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, alleged that Abbott Laboratories concealed from hospital intensive-care units the risk that its cow's-milk-based Similac Special Care formula could cause the bowel disease in frail newborns. The four complaints were filed in 2022 and focused on babies born prematurely at Chicago-area hospitals over an eight-year period ending in 2019. The Chicago case marks the first time multiple formula suits were tried together. Claims of negligence, failure to warn, and product defect survived to trial before Cook County Circuit Court Judge John Ehrlich [1][2][3][4].
After approximately 10 hours of deliberation, jurors returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding $15 million to Antonia Mendez, $15 million to Eboni Williams, $7 million to Casie Thompson, and $16 million to Kara Sharpe, for a total compensatory award of $53 million [2][3]. The damages were awarded for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of a normal life, disfigurement, and the risk of future harm. Each of the plaintiffs' children had been born prematurely and fed Abbott's Similac Special Care 24 formula in Chicago-area hospitals; all four infants survived, but three required surgery shortly after birth. At trial, Abbott's lead defense counsel Hariklia Karis of Kirkland & Ellis argued that association between the formula and NEC does not establish causation and that prematurity and low birth weight, not formula, are the primary risk factors for the condition [1]. Judge Ehrlich, commenting after the liability phase, stated that Abbott should have included a warning on its label because it knew there was a substantial risk of NEC associated with its formula, and he criticized testimony by one of Abbott's experts who suggested it would be cruel to disclose the NEC risk to parents.
The jury awarded $53 million in compensatory damages on April 9, then returned on April 10 to impose $17 million in punitive damages on Abbott, bringing the total verdict to $70 million. The judge allowed the jury to consider punitive damages after finding evidence that Abbott may have concealed risks associated with its formula. Juror Jim Schmidt said the panel settled on a modest punitive figure to send a message, noting, "we don't want to bury Abbott."
Abbott stated it disagreed with the verdict and would appeal, noting that four similar lawsuits had been dismissed by federal and state courts. The broader litigation landscape reflects a divergence between state and federal courts: while state juries have returned plaintiff verdicts, the first three multidistrict litigation bellwether cases in federal court have been victories for Abbott. In 2024, a St. Louis jury found Abbott liable for nearly $500 million in a separate NEC case, while a second St. Louis jury cleared the company of liability. Abbott has indicated it may pull its preterm formula products from the market if costly verdicts continue, and one Bloomberg Intelligence analyst has estimated that Abbott and Mead Johnson together could face as much as $3 billion in total liability to resolve NEC claims.
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