The first multidistrict litigation trials among the baby formula lawsuits claiming that premature infants developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) from certain popular brands are approaching.
According to court documents filed on Sep. 12, MDL Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer announced the trial order for the previously known bellwether cases. The first trial is set to be Ericka Mar, as Administratrix of the Estate of RaiLee Mar v. Abbott Laboratories.
This marks notable progress for the four bellwether cases, which were originally selected in December 2023 but had no order or dates assigned to them since.
Judge Pallmeyer has directed the counsel to begin work on setting trial dates. In June, it was believed that the first of the bellwether trials could start in May 2025.
First Bellwether Trial Involves Infant Who was Fed Similac, Died from NEC
Mar v. Abbott Laboratories is now scheduled as the first bellwether case to go to trial. It will likely play a center-stage role in the outcome of the hundreds of pending lawsuits surrounding cow’s milk baby formula and its links to necrotizing enterocolitis, a potentially fatal disease that can cause intestinal damage.
The case is centered on baby RaiLee Mar, who was born premature. While in the NICU, baby RaiLee developed NEC after being fed Abbott’s Similac formula and died shortly after. The lawsuit cites numerous studies demonstrating potential links between premature infants who consume cow’s milk formula and the development of NEC.
As stated in several court documents for the MDL lawsuits, “The companies who manufacture these products often intentionally mislabel and misrepresent the contents of the products both to the public at large and to the health care community, passing off these deadly products as something similar to or even superior to human breast milk.”
The following cases in order will be:
- Ericka Mar, as Administratrix of the Estate of RaiLee Mar v. Abbott Laboratories
- Keosha Diggs, Individually and as Parent and General Guardian of K.B. (Kamari Brown) v. Abbott Laboratories
- Rebekah Etienne & Deondrick Brown v. Abbott Laboratories
- Inman v. Mead Johnson & Company, LLC, et al.
Baby Formula Lawsuits Claim Companies Failed to Warn of Serious Health Risks
The newly ordered bellwether trials are the first in an MDL that contains 571 total cases. Lawsuits have claimed that the companies behind popular baby formula brands like Similac and Enfamil failed to warn customers about the risk of NEC, a serious and sometimes fatal intestinal disease that most commonly affects babies who are born prematurely.
Studies have shown that premature infants who consume cow’s milk formulas like Similac and Enfamil are at a higher risk of developing NEC, which can lead to serious complications like sepsis. According to the National Library of Medicine, NEC has a mortality rate as high as 50%.
While the bellwether cases will be the first to go to trial in the MDL, cases outside of multidistrict litigation have already seen major success.
In July, a St. Louis jury awarded $495 million to the family of a premature infant who developed NEC and suffered neurological damage after being fed Similac formula while in the NICU. An Illinois jury in March also awarded $60 million to the family of a baby who died after being fed Enfamil.
Editor Lindsay Donaldson contributed to this article.