A Missouri appellate court has upheld a $495 million verdict against north suburban-based Abbott Laboratories in a case over whether its formula for premature infants caused a girl to become seriously ill.
The decision is the latest blow for Abbott over the issue of whether its formula for babies born prematurely causes a devastating intestinal disease called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Abbott now faces more than 1,700 lawsuits across the country over the matter.
Last month, Abbott lost four cases in Cook County Circuit Court, with a jury awarding $70 million in damages.
In the latest decision Tuesday, the Missouri appellate court upheld $495 million in damages awarded by a St. Louis jury in July 2024. The jury reached its verdict following a three-week-long trial during which Illinois resident Margo Gill alleged her daughter Robynn Davis was given Abbott’s formula for premature infants after she was born at 26 weeks gestation, causing her to develop NEC. Davis, who was born in 2021, underwent extensive surgery because of her NEC diagnosis and continues to suffer from long-term health issues.
The jury awarded $95 million in compensatory damages and $400 million in punitive damages.
In its appeal, Abbott argued that Gill failed to show that the formula caused her daughter’s NEC, failed to show that Abbott’s design of the formula was negligent and that the punitive damages were “grossly excessive,” among other arguments.
The appellate court, however, disagreed with Abbott.
“While we recognize an excessive award fails to serve a legitimate purpose and unjustly deprives property, we are equally cognizant that the purpose of punitive damages is to deter egregious conduct,” the court wrote. “Applying these factors, we find Abbott’s conduct significantly reprehensible.”
The appellate court also wrote that the “jury found Abbott’s preterm formula caused substantial, extensive, permanent physical harm to Infant who will require comprehensive daily care for the remainder of her lifetime. Further, Abbott specifically designed its preterm formula for the population exposed to the most risk and yet failed to mitigate any danger by warning the consumer or actively changing the ingredient profile. Lastly, the product is still in the market without an NEC warning.”
Abbott said in a statement Tuesday that it strongly disagrees with the appellate court’s decision and plans to “seek further appellate review.”
“The decision is inconsistent with the overwhelming scientific and medical consensus,” Abbott said in the statement. Abbott said the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics, NEC Society “and others agree: these products are safe, they are necessary, and there is no reliable scientific evidence that they cause NEC.”
Attempts to reach an attorney for Gill were unsuccessful Tuesday.
Abbott has been fighting allegations for years that its formula for preterm infants causes NEC, and some experts worry that the ongoing litigation could lead Abbott to eventually pull the product. Abbott’s CEO has previously suggested that the company could stop offering the formula if litigation continues.
Experts agree that mother’s milk should always be the first choice when it comes to feeding babies born very prematurely, and that donated breast milk should be the next option. But some argue that when mother’s milk and donated breast milk are not available, preterm formulas, like the one made by Abbott, are necessary.
Research has shown an association between consumption of cow’s milk-based formula by preterm babies and higher rates of NEC, and that breast milk helps to protect against NEC. But Abbott has long maintained that its formula does not cause NEC.
In 2024, three major government agencies — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health — released a joint statement on NEC and premature infants, following a report by a group of experts who were asked to compile information about the science behind the issue.
In that statement, the agencies said, “There is no conclusive evidence that preterm infant formula causes NEC.”
Though Abbott still faces many cases, so far lawsuits against Abbott over the issue have only gone to trial three times, with two of those trials resulting in the $495 million and $70 million verdicts. In the third trial, Abbott and another manufacturer of preterm infant formula, Mead Johnson Nutrition, were found not liable, but a St. Louis judge later granted a motion for a new trial citing “errors and misconduct.” Abbott is also appealing that decision.
