Products Liability
Our lawyers are pursuing Enfamil and Similac baby formula lawsuits for premature babies who suffered necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in all 50 states. There is strong evidence that cow milk in these formulas contributes to premature newborns developing NEC.
The basis for these baby formula lawsuits is that research has long shown that cow milk is associated with NEC, and the manufacturers of Similac and Enfamil should have warned doctors and parents of the risks.
Our attorneys update this page regularly. Come back here for all of the latest NEC formula lawsuit updates. This page also provides our estimate for the potential settlement value of these cases.
There is a real chance that a settlement is on the horizon. Our NEC formula lawyers are still reviewing potential lawsuits from families of premature infants who subsequently developed NEC. We are nearing the end of this litigation. If you have a claim, you want to act now. Call our lawyers today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.
NEC Lawsuit Updates
October 1, 2026: NEC MDL Case Count
As of October 1, 2026, there are 844 pending NEC infant formula lawsuits in the federal MDL.
September 2, 2026 Update: Mead Johnson Wins First Federal NEC Jury Trial
Mead Johnson won a unanimous defense verdict in the Inman case in the Northern District of Illinois. This was the first NEC formula bellwether trial against Mead Johnson to reach a jury in the federal litigation.
We cannot pretend this is not a blow. We really want verdicts against Mead because it seems more likely than Abbott to hold out on settlement.
But this is just one case. We will win some of these cases and lose others. These cases are all very different, so we will see different results. But, as we have seen, the wins have been huge verdicts. We will get another shot soon.
August 20, 2026 Update: Abbott Agrees to $670 Million NEC Settlement
Abbott has announced agreements totaling approximately $670 million to resolve the Gill case and NEC claims involving approximately 2,000 additional infants. The agreements were reached with three law firms.
The settlement follows the Missouri appellate ruling upholding the $495 million Gill verdict we discussed in May. Abbott said that judgment, with accrued interest, had grown to approximately $600 million. Rather than continue fighting that case, the company agreed to resolve it along with thousands of additional claims.
Of course, you cannot divide $670 million by 2,000 and assume that number tells you what your case is worth. But this does give us a lens on how these cases are being valued right now.
July 24, 2026 Update: Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Abbott Bellwether Case
The Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of the Mar v. Abbott Laboratories NEC bellwether case. The court concluded that the mother had not presented sufficient evidence that a different formula warning would have prevented her premature daughter’s death.
The problem was the available feeding alternatives. The hospital had no donor milk, and the mother could no longer provide usable breast milk. The court found the evidence insufficient to show that a stronger warning would have led to an available alternative in time to prevent the injury.
This ruling gives Abbott an important defense argument. Families bringing failure-to-warn claims need evidence showing what an adequate warning would have changed. That may include testimony about available donor milk, hospital feeding practices, and whether doctors or parents would have chosen a different feeding plan.
The court resolved this appeal on warning causation. It did not decide that cow’s milk-based formula cannot cause NEC. For our lawyers, the practical lesson is that proving an increased risk is only part of the case. We also need to show how the missing warning affected this baby’s care.
June 17, 2026 Update: Illinois Appeals Court Reverses $60 Million NEC Formula Verdict
An Illinois appellate court has reversed the $60 million verdict against Mead Johnson in the first successful jury verdict involving cow’s milk-based infant formula and necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC. The case involved a premature baby who died in 2020 at 25 days old after being fed Enfamil premature infant formula in the hospital.
The Fifth District Court of Appeal sent the case back for a new trial, ruling that the trial judge should have applied the learned intermediary doctrine. That doctrine usually applies in prescription drug and medical device cases and provides that the manufacturer’s warning duty runs to the doctor, not directly to the patient. The appellate court extended that doctrine to this hospital-administered infant formula product, holding that Mead Johnson’s duty was owed to the physicians treating the baby, not directly to the mother.
That is a significant ruling for Mead Johnson, and one the defense will try to use in other NEC cases. But it is also a controversial expansion of the learned intermediary doctrine. This was not a prescription medication. It was infant formula. Applying a doctrine built around doctors prescribing drugs to a nutrition product given to premature babies in hospitals gives the defense a new legal argument that could limit direct warning claims by parents. Plaintiff will appeal this verdict.
The court also found error in the amount of financial evidence admitted against Mead Johnson. The jury heard evidence about revenues, executive compensation, profit margins, and marketing budgets. Because punitive damages were not at issue, the appellate court found that this evidence created too much risk that the jury would punish Mead Johnson for its wealth rather than decide liability based on defect, causation, and the adequacy of the warnings.
This is a setback for families pursuing NEC formula claims, but it is not the end of the Watson case. The plaintiff can seek review from the Illinois Supreme Court or retry the case under the warning framework imposed by the appellate court.
The decision also does not erase the pressure created by other NEC verdicts. Abbott was hit with a $495 million verdict in Missouri, and another Cook County jury awarded $70 million in an NEC case against Abbott, including punitive damages. Those verdicts show that when juries hear the evidence and are allowed to evaluate what the companies knew, how they marketed these products, and what warnings were given, the strong cases still have enormous value.
May 8, 2026 – More Good News, Huge Verdict Affirmed
A Missouri appeals court just handed plaintiffs a major win in the premature infant formula litigation, upholding the full $495 million verdict against Abbott Laboratories in the Gill v. Abbott case. The verdict included $95 million in compensatory damages and $400 million in punitive damages after a St. Louis jury found that Abbott’s Similac Special Care 24 High Protein formula caused or contributed to a premature baby’s necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC.
The facts are brutal. The child was born at just 26 weeks, weighing only 777 grams, or about 1 pound 11 ounces. She was transferred to Cardinal Glennon’s NICU, where she was initially fed human milk. When she was just over a month old and still only 1,370 grams, the hospital switched part of her feeding to Abbott’s cow’s milk-based preterm formula. Within 24 hours, she began vomiting and her abdomen became dangerously distended. Surgeons ultimately removed about 80 percent of her small intestine. The infection then spread into her bloodstream and brain, leaving her with severe permanent brain damage, quadriplegic cerebral palsy, seizures, and lifelong need for round-the-clock care.
The appellate court rejected Abbott’s core defense that the plaintiff had not proven causation. Formula companies are arguing that NEC is a disease of prematurity, not a disease caused by their products. But that is not flying with juries or this appellate court. The court found the plaintiff had enough evidence for the jury to decide that Abbott’s formula caused or contributed to this child’s NEC. The court pointed to expert testimony, medical records, the timing of the NEC symptoms after formula exposure, and studies showing sharply increased NEC risk in very low birthweight infants fed preterm formula.
The ruling is a big deal for NEC baby formula plaintiffs. It does not mean every case will win. But it does undercut several of Abbott’s biggest defense themes that plaintiffs cannot prove causation, that doctors alone are responsible for feeding decisions, that formula is a medical product protected by special warning rules, and that punitive damages are off the table.
April 15, 2026 – Big New Verdict – $70 Million
A Cook County jury awarded $70 million to four families in their lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories, finding that the company’s cow’s milk-based infant formula contributed to necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants.
Each of the plaintiffs’ children was born prematurely and later diagnosed with NEC after being fed Abbott’s Similac Special Care 24 formula in Chicago-area hospitals. While all four infants survived, they experienced severe complications, and three required surgery shortly after birth. The damages covered pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of a normal life, disfigurement, and risk of future harm.
The Chicago case marks the first time multiple formula suits were tried together, which we like. The jury delivered the liability verdict and $53 million in compensatory damages, then returned the following day to award $17 million in punitive damages after finding that Abbott was aware of the risks and continued marketing the product to hospital intensive care units.
Abbott said it strongly disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal, arguing that science was ignored and that regulators and the medical community consider these products safe and necessary. Abbott has stated that it may consider ceasing production of certain specialty formulas unless Congress provides legislative protection from liability, a claim plaintiffs’ lawyers view as a pressure tactic rather than a genuine business threat. Instead of getting out of the business, why not just put an honest warning on it?
Failure to Warn of Cow Milk in Similac and Enfamil
Many parents whose premature babies developed NEC have never thought to call an infant formula lawyer. Most of them were never told there was any connection between cow’s milk-based formulas like Similac or Enfamil and the development of NEC.
For years, medical malpractice lawyers brought lawsuits (we list some below) that made nearly the same argument as the ones being brought today against formula manufacturers. Those cases alleged that doctors failed to adjust feedings or continued giving cow’s milk-based formula to premature babies, despite signs of NEC. The claim was that doctors should have known these products increased the risk of NEC.
In those malpractice cases, doctors often defended themselves by saying they did not know. They argued they were unaware of the studies linking these formulas to NEC, or that the literature was too limited to act on. Eventually, plaintiffs’ lawyers recognized that the real failure was not just in the hospital. It was higher up. Abbott and Mead Johnson never gave a clear warning to doctors or parents. That is what these lawsuits are about.
Even in 2025, after thousands of NEC lawsuits have been filed, confusion persists. Ask a pediatrician whether baby formula causes NEC, and the answers are often mixed. Some will say yes. Others will say no. Many are still unsure.
But the research is not unclear. Premature babies who are fed cow’s milk-based formula are more likely to develop NEC than those who are fed human breast milk or hydrolyzed protein formulas. The proteins in cow’s milk are harder for a premature baby to digest. They can inflame the intestinal lining, cause tissue damage, and in the worst cases, lead to part of the intestine dying.
This has been known in the medical literature for years. The question that remains is simple. If the risk is real, and if there are safer alternatives, why did the companies not warn doctors and mothers? Why was there no clear label?
Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC)
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe and potentially fatal disease primarily occurring in premature infants. What happens is that bacteria invade the intestinal wall. This leads to inflammation and infection.
Bacteria can damage the intestinal wall, causing infection and inflammation, resulting in a weakened intestinal wall. This may create an opening or fissure, allowing bacteria to seep into the abdominal cavity. Essentially, the lining of the baby’s intestines becomes inflamed, and subsequently, parts of it can start to die off. If not properly addressed, NEC can result a hole or perforation in the intestine, which can be dangerous and even life-threatening. Ultimately, NEC can cause partial or complete destruction of the baby’s bowel. The complications can cause decreased oxygen supply to vital organs, which can cause all sorts of permanent injuries.
Why is this litigation focused on premature babies? NEC is more common in premature babies fed formula instead of breast milk, but it can also occur in babies fed breast milk. The exact cause of NEC is not fully understood, but it is thought to be related to an imbalance in the baby’s gut bacteria. So the risk to these children has been clear for a long time.
The long-term outcomes for infants with NEC can vary depending on the severity of the disease and whether surgery was required. Infants who have had NEC may be at an increased risk for long-term complications such as short bowel syndrome, developmental delays, and growth problems. Prevention strategies for NEC include promoting breast milk feeding, careful monitoring of feeding tolerance, and judicious use of antibiotics.
Symptoms and Diagnosis of NEC
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) often announces itself quietly at first, then with devastating urgency. Parents may see their baby’s belly swell or notice that feeding suddenly becomes a struggle. Doctors look for signs like abdominal distention, metabolic acidosis, feeding intolerance, strange residuals in the stomach, jaundice in the skin, green-tinged fluid under the abdominal wall, lethargy, diminished bowel sounds, irregular stools, difficulty breathing, and slowed heart rate. These are clinical flags that something dangerous is unfolding inside a fragile newborn.
What makes NEC especially cruel is its speed. It is progressive, which means every hour matters. Catching symptoms early and responding quickly can make the difference between crisis and recovery. Many infants, when treated promptly, go on to live full and healthy lives. Diagnosis begins with a pediatrician’s careful observation, but it does not end there. Blood tests, cultures, abdominal imaging, and blood gas measurements give the fuller picture that allows doctors to confirm NEC and move swiftly toward treatment.
Treatment of NEC
When NEC is suspected, it is treated by discontinuing all oral feeding and immediately administering strong antibiotics to the baby. Nutrients must be supplied intravenously until the infection is eliminated and the baby’s intestinal tissue has fully healed. Nasogastric drainage is sometimes necessary along with circulatory support. In some cases of NEC, tissue in the intestines may be left decayed and dead. Surgery will be necessary to remove the dead intestinal tissue when this occurs. So the infant may require surgery to remove necrotic tissue or repair a perforation in the intestines. This can often lead to short gut syndrome and other complications.
NEC is a brutal disease. Even with prompt and aggressive treatment, NEC can still result in significant morbidity and mortality, with up to 50% of affected infants requiring surgery and a mortality rate of 20-30%.
Cow Milk
Fasting sounds counterintuitive. But doctors have long known that the rapid advancement of feeds in a premature infant often significantly increases the incidence of NEC.
Most infants develop NEC after being fed, and few feedings decrease the likelihood of NEC. We now know that the cause of premature babies developing NEC after getting Similac or Enfamil is because they contain cow-based milk.
Research for years found an association between cow milk formulas and NEC in premature infants. Yet there was never a warning on these products that baby formula might be a safer choice for premature infants than Enfamil, Similac, or other cow milk-based formulas.
Enfamil Baby Formula Lawsuits
Our baby formula NEC lawyers are evaluating claims against Mead Johnson Nutrition for failing to warn about Enfamil’s risks. If your baby was fed any of the following products, you could have a viable Enfamil baby formula lawsuit if your baby developed NEC:
- Enfamil NeoPro EnfaCare Infant Formula (Mead Johnson says it is the “best” for premature babies)
- Enfamil Premature Infant Formula 20 Cal with Iron
- Enfamil 24 Cal Infant Formula
- Enfamil Premature Infant Formula 24 Cal High Protein
- Enfamil Premature Infant Formula 24 Cal with Iron
- Enfamil Premature Infant Formula 30 Cal with Iron
- Enfamil Human Milk Fortifier
Similac Baby Formula Lawsuits
Similarly, our attorneys are also evaluating NEC lawsuits against the maker of Similac, Abbott Laboratories Inc., for premature babies who developed NEC. The cow milk products for Similac include:
- Similac NeoSure
- Similac Alimentum Expert Care
- Similac Liquid Protein Fortifier
- Similac Human Milk Fortifier
- Similac Human Milk Fortifier Hydrolyzed Protein Concentrated Liquid
- Similac Special Care 20
- Similac Special Care 24
- Similac Special Care 24 High Protein
- Similac Special Care 30
Scientific Evidence Linking NEC and Cow Milk Formula
The scientific evidence establishing a causal link between cow milk-based infant formula and NEC has been developing for 30 years. Below is a chronology of the studies establishing that cow-milk formula increases the risk of NEC in premature infants.
| Year | Study / Publication |
|---|---|
| 1990 | The Lancet – Breast milk and neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis: a study of 926 preterm infants found those given milk-based formula were 6–10 times more likely to develop NEC. |
| 2010 | Journal of Pediatrics – Infants fed breast milk or human milk fortifiers were 90% less likely to develop NEC than those fed traditional cow milk formula. |
| 2011 | U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action – Premature infants not fed human milk were 138% more likely to develop NEC. |
| 2014 | Expert Review of Clinical Immunology – Summarized evidence showing formula-fed infants have higher NEC rates than breast milk-fed infants. |
| 2015 | Pediatria – Portuguese study found a 50% reduction in NEC risk with breast milk over formula. |
| 2016 | Breastfeeding Medicine – Beyond Necrotizing Enterocolitis Prevention: A 1,500 newborn study showing lower NEC rates with exclusive human milk diets. |
| 2019 | Cochrane Study – Found that premature infants fed cow milk formula had a 7x greater risk of NEC. |
| 2021 | Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics – Human milk feeding reduced NEC risk by 77% in preterm infants. |
| 2021 | Pediatrics and Child Health – Reinforced that breast milk significantly reduces NEC risk in premature infants. |
| 2024 | JAMA – NIH-funded study of 483 extremely premature infants found NEC in 9% of formula-fed babies vs. 4.2% of those given donor breast milk. |
| 2024 | ConsumerNotice.org Summary – Reinforced risks shown in NIH and JAMA findings. Formula-fed infants faced significantly higher NEC rates than those given donor milk. |
Who Is Eligible for a Necrotizing Enterocolitis Lawsuit?
Our infant formula attorneys are reviewing NEC lawsuits for families who have children who were:
- Using Similac or Enfamil formula
- Born prematurely
- Diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis
Most cases our baby formula attorneys will accept involve either surgery to correct the NEC or a wrongful death lawsuit because the child did not survive.
Is There a Class Action Lawsuit for Baby Formula and NEC?
There is an NEC baby formula class action lawsuit, actually an MDL in Illinois that houses all federal court lawsuits. But there are also state court lawsuits that have moved forward more quickly and already generated two whopping verdicts as we discuss above.
State Court Baby Formula NEC Lawsuits
Many NEC baby injury lawsuits can be claimed against the baby formula manufacturer, doctors, and nurses. Some of these lawsuits will bypass the expected NEC class action lawsuit and proceed as individual claims. These lawsuits have gone forward first.
Has There Been an Enfamil or Similac Recall?
There has not been a recall for Enfamil or Similac. Our baby formula lawyers are not calling for a recall. Instead, our attorneys argue that this infant formula can stay on the market but with a warning to doctors, hospitals, and patients that there may be NEC side effects.
So our lawyers are not advocating a nanny state where lawyers and bureaucrats come between you and your child. But the makers of Enfamil and Similac come between parents and children when they do not arm parents with the information to make the
What NEC Settlement Amounts are Expected in the Infant Formula Lawsuits?
But we can estimate settlement amounts and compensation payouts from juries at trial by looking at NEC medical malpractice lawsuits. Let’s look at a few:
- New York: $5 million verdict
- New York: $1.35 million settlement
- California: $10 million settlement
- Michigan: $50,000 settlement
- Louisiana: $347,000 settlement
- Florida: $900,000 settlement
- Massachusetts: $7 million verdict
- Missouri: $495,000,000
- Illinois: $60,000,000
Let’s pull out a few of these NEC lawsuits for a closer look, adding in the two big verdicts that are cases against the manufacturers:
- 2024, Missouri: $495,000,000 Verdict. An infant fed Similac formula in the NICU developed NEC and suffered irreversible neurological damage. The child’s family filed a negligence lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories, arguing that the company failed to warn about the dangers of its formula for premature infants. The Missouri jury awarded $95 million in compensatory damages and $400 million in punitive damages, marking a significant victory for the plaintiffs.
- 2024, Illinois: $60,000,000 Verdict. A premature infant developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) after consuming Enfamil formula manufactured by Mead Johnson. The child passed away from complications of NEC, and the parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit. They alleged the company failed to provide adequate warnings about the risks associated with its cow’s milk-based formula. The jury awarded the family $60 million in damages.
- 2021, Pennsylvania: $1,800,000 Settlement. A premature infant (29 weeks) was admitted to the NICU, where she displayed signs of necrotizing enterocolitis and died shortly after. Her parents brought a wrongful death action alleging that the defendants failed to transfer the infant or develop a plan to treat NEC and delayed the transfer of the systemically ill infant to a local children’s hospital. Case settled before trial.
- 2019, New York: $1,350,000 Settlement. A two-day-old newborn with transient tachypnea and a heart murmur was fed a breast milk and formula combination. He suffered bowel loops distension – as we said above, the classic necrotizing enterocolitis sign. The boy’s parents hired a lawyer and filed an NEC malpractice lawsuit. The suit alleged the hospital failed to feed him breast milk exclusively. As for all the NEC claims below, you can see how this could also be a product liability claim if the baby was fed a cow milk product from Similac or Enfamil, right? If so, did the parents and doctors know of the risks involved? What is important about his case is the defense lawyer’s argument. The defendants contended there was no scientific foundation to the claims that formula feeding causes NEC and that breast milk feeding prevents it. This underscores why a warning is so important.
- 2018, Illinois: $2,970,000 Verdict. This is a wrongful death case. A premature baby girl suffered respiratory distress, anemia, bradycardia, and low white blood cell levels. Her physician eventually realized it was necrotizing enterocolitis. She halted the baby’s feedings, decompressed her bowel, and performed surgery. The girl died several days later. Her parents filed an NEC malpractice suit claiming its staff failed to timely address necrotizing enterocolitis.
- 2011, Massachusetts: $7,050,000 Verdict. A premature newborn with metabolic acidosis was transferred to the NICU. The physician and neonatologist ordered feedings, again presumably cow milk-based baby formula. She died from necrotizing enterocolitis complications. Her parents hired an NEC malpractice lawyer to bring a claim against the hospital. The suit alleged failure to diagnose and treat their baby’s necrotizing enterocolitis risk before it was too late.
The average settlement or verdict in this selected sampling is over $94 million. Will that be the average settlement in the NEC baby formula lawsuit? No. But make no mistake. NEC settlement compensation in these cases will be extremely high if these lawsuits are as successful as we hope. The average cost to treat a baby with NEC is $500,000. This kind of anchor drives high settlement amounts.
Contact Our NEC Lawyers Today
Our infant formula lawyers are still reviewing potential NEC lawsuits from parents of premature infants who subsequently developed NEC. We believe an NEC settlement could be on the horizon. If you have a claim, you want to act now. Call our lawyers today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.