Trial Over Similac Necrotizing Enterocolitis Injuries Underway in Chicago

Claims brought by four separate families may help signal how juries may respond to evidence and testimony likely to be repeated in other Similac and Enfamil NEC lawsuits.

A trial is underway in a Chicago courtroom involving claims brought by four families, each alleging that their children developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) after being fed Similac infant formula following their premature births.

The trial will serve as an important bellwether for many other Similac NEC lawsuits currently pending in state and federal courts nationwide, each involving similar claims that Abbott placed profits ahead of the safety of newborns by failing to warn families and the medical community about the potential risks associated with feeding the cow’s milk-based formula to premature infants. Mead Johnson also faces similar Enfamil lawsuits for its own infant formula products.

NEC is an often-fatal condition caused by harmful bacteria in the lining of a newborn’s intestines, which is particularly prevalent in prematurely born infants whose gastrointestinal tract may not be fully developed at birth. The devastating infant formula injury can cause inflammation, necrosis and death. Infants suffering from NEC often require emergency surgery, and many infants do not survive the condition.

In hundreds of lawsuits now being pursued nationwide, families argue that the manufacturers have known that their cow’s milk-based products increased the risk of NEC, yet provided false and misleading information to the medical community while promoting their products for use among vulnerable premature infants.

Two Similac NEC lawsuits have already gone to trial in Missouri state court, one of which resulted in a nearly $500 million verdict, and the other, against both Abbott and Mead Johnson, ended in a defense verdict. In March 2024, a trial over similar claims against Mead Johnson, also held in Illinois state court, resulted in a $60 million decision.

The latest trial began this week in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago. All four plaintiffs indicate their premature newborns were fed Similac in the hospitals’ neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and were later diagnosed with NEC. All claim the children have suffered permanent and life-altering injuries.

Abbott argues that the “failure to warn” claims are unfounded, because the parents never saw the labels when the infants were fed in the NICU. Thus, they would not have made any different choices. The company argues that three of the families were given information about NEC risks and nutrition by medical staff, and in three of the cases Similac was the only option available.

Federal Infant Formula NEC Lawsuits

While this latest trial is being held in Chicago state court, nearly 800 Similac and Enfamil infant formula NEC lawsuits are currently consolidated in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois under U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, who is overseeing coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Pallmeyer has been working with parties for the last several years to prepare a series of bellwether trials to see how juries respond to evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation.

Originally, the first federal infant formula NEC lawsuit trial was expected to begin in April 2025. However, it and several other bellwether cases were thrown out by the judge due to a lack of sufficient evidence.

The court is now preparing a second wave of potential bellwether selections, each involving injuries linked to Similac. Those trials are expected to begin in August 2026.

All of these trials, including the one under way in Chicago, are being closely watched, as any jury awards are likely to influence how much Abbott and Mead Johnson may need to pay in NEC infant formula lawsuits settlements to resolve the litigation. However, if the parties fail to reach a settlement before the federal bellwether trials and pretrial proceedings are concluded, Judge Pallmeyer could start remanding the federal cases back to their originating districts for separate trial dates.

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