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 2, 2025 – Case Count Reaches… 761
The MDL added one net case last month. It now stands at 761. We expect the MDL to remain steady while most of the new lawsuits in this litigation will be filed in state court.
September 15, 2025 – Case Count
The NEC baby formula MDL (No. 3026) has increased slightly to 760 active cases as of early September, up one from August. This modest growth shows filings are continuing even as courts issue summary judgments, bellwether delays, and tighter expert standards. These are strong cases, and we saw it with those two verdicts. The number of cases will remain low because, thankfully, there are only so many children who have dealt with the horrors of NEC.
September 7, 2025 – Win in the MDL
The MDL judge struck down one of Abbott and Mead Johnson’s proposed experts who planned to challenge the causation link between cow’s milk-based formulas and NEC. The judge excluded the testimony, citing the use of inaccurate figures and unexplained criteria. This is a win for plaintiffs’ counsel who have pushed aggressively for reliable expert reports to survive motion practice. The science is on our side in these cases.
August 7, 2025 – Case Count
The case count has reached 759 as we head towards the first MDL trial in November.
July 29, 2025 – Diggs Bellwether Dismissed After Expert Exclusion
The second bellwether trial in the NEC baby formula MDL has collapsed before it could begin. Today, Judge Pallmeyer granted summary judgment in favor of Abbott Laboratories after excluding the plaintiff’s causation expert, citing an insufficient factual fit between the expert’s opinion and the specific gestational profile of the infant involved. As a result, the trial, previously for August, s now off the calendar.
While the judge left the door open for reconsideration if new evidence emerges, this decision effectively ends the Diggs case (for now, the plaintiff can go back and work up the expert case again). The ruling underscores a mounting frustration among plaintiffs’ attorneys: that courts are increasingly resolving causation disputes at the gatekeeping stage under Daubert rather than allowing juries to hear and weigh expert testimony. Here, the expert’s methodology was not questioned, only whether it matched this baby’s precise gestational age and weight. That is a huge technicality that feels to us like an unreasonable ground for dismissal.
This is exactly why more NEC lawsuits are now being routed to state court, where the threshold for expert admissibility is typically lower and juries get to decide which causation theories carry weight. With Diggs dismissed, the first federal bellwether trial is now delayed until November, dealing yet another procedural setback to an MDL that continues to move at a frustratingly slow pace.
June 30, 2025 – Latest Update
The court is moving forward with multiple key developments in the NEC baby formula lawsuits. At a recent in-person status hearing, Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer outlined a number of critical deadlines that signal real momentum in the litigation.
First, the parties must submit a proposed plan for selecting additional bellwether cases by June 23, 2025, along with a scheduling proposal for motion practice in non-bellwether claims. This sets the stage for broader case settlement resolution beyond Inman v. Mead Johnson, the current lead case.
Second, the trial in Diggs v. Abbott is now officially scheduled. A jury panel will be brought in on August 4, 2025, for questionnaires, with voir dire on August 7 and opening arguments starting August 8. Before that, the court will hear oral arguments on summary judgment and Daubert motions on July 28 and July 30, respectively.
Third, in the Inman bellwether, dispositive motions are due August 25, with responses by September 22 and replies by October 6. This timing keeps the litigation on track for possible resolution or trial scheduling in the near term.
Finally, Judge Pallmeyer confirmed that a ruling on all pending remand motions is expected by June 23, 2025. These rulings could determine whether several cases return to state court or stay in the MDL.
June 15, 2025 – NEC MDL Case Count Reaches 740
Based on the most recent data, the NEC infant formula MDL (No. 3026) now includes 740 pending cases, up from 710 reported last month. This marks an increase of 30 new lawsuits filed in May, maintaining the steady pace of filings observed in April.
The continued growth comes just weeks after Judge Pallmeyer’s critical Daubert ruling, which preserved plaintiffs’ key causation experts, giving plaintiffs’ law firms more confidence to file as the bellwether trial calendar starts to solidify.
June 4, 2025 – Illinois Appeals Court Upholds Venue for NEC Lawsuits
The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed that thousands of NEC-related lawsuits against Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson should remain in Madison County, Illinois—a jurisdiction often viewed as favorable to plaintiffs. The court rejected the companies’ attempts to transfer the cases to other venues, allowing the claims to proceed in their original filing location. This decision is seen as a victory for plaintiffs seeking accountability for alleged failures to warn about the risks associated with cow’s milk-based formulas in premature infants.
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.