Enfamil NEC Lawsuit Filed After Newborn Suffers ‘Nearly Total Bowel Necrosis’

NEC symptoms began only three days after the premature infant was fed Enfamil cow’s milk-based formula.

A Florida mother has filed a lawsuit against the makers of the infant formula brand Enfamil, alleging that the cow’s milk-based products caused her newborn to suffer a severe case of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), resulting in permanent, life-long injuries.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Kadejah Brown, on behalf of herself and her minor daughter, Elizabeth Anastassia Jackson, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on June 9. The lawsuit names Mead Johnson as the defendant, and claims the company has known for years that its Enfamil products were a health risk for newborns, particularly preterm infants, but failed to adequately warn parents or the medical community of the risk of NEC.

NEC is a devastating gastrointestinal disease experienced by newborn babies, which occurs when harmful bacteria breach the walls of the intestines, causing portions of the tissue to become inflamed or die. In many cases, infants who contract the condition require emergency surgery while still in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after birth. Many babies do not survive the disease, and those who do often experience lifelong effects.

Brown’s daughter, who turned 10 this week, was born at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton, Florida, at only 25 weeks gestation. According to the lawsuit, the child only weighed 580 grams, so the hospital staff fed her Enfamil Premature 20 cal, to help her gain weight. However, symptoms of NEC began just three days later.

“On or about July 15, 2015, Baby Brown exhibited abdominal distention and was diagnosed with NEC,” the lawsuit states. “On or about July 29, 2015, doctors at Bethesda Memorial Hospital performed an exploratory laparotomy due to nearly total bowel necrosis.”

Elizabeth Jackson survived the procedure, but the lawsuit indicates she will continue to suffer the side effects of NEC for the rest of her life. Her mother presents claims of strict liability design defect, negligence, failure to warn, and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

Her lawsuit joins a growing number of NEC infant formula lawsuits filed by families throughout the United States against Mead Johnson and Abbott Laboratories, which manufacturers Similac infant formula products.

Enfamil NEC Lawsuits

Mead Johnson and its competitor Abbott Laboratories currently face more than 700 Enfamil lawsuits and Similac lawsuits, each raising similar allegations that the companies actively concealed information from families and the medical community about the risks of NEC from their cow’s milk-based infant formulas for decades.

The litigation has been consolidated in the Northern District of Illinois as part of an infant formula NEC lawsuit MDL (multidistrict litigation) since 2022, with U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer presiding over coordinated pretrial discovery and preparing a small group of “bellwether” cases for early trial dates slated to begin later this year.

While the outcome of these early trials will not have any binding impact on NEC injury lawsuits being pursued by other families, the average payouts awarded by juries will likely have a substantial impact on the amount that Abbott and Mead Johnson may be required to pay in NEC injury settlements to avoid hundreds of additional claims going before juries.

If the parties fail to resolve the litigation following the federal bellwether trials, Judge Pallmeyer may start remanding dozens of individual claims back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for separate trial dates.

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