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All parents want the best for their newborns, but not all mothers can breastfeed or wish to breastfeed their babies. Some infants—particularly premature newborns—are unable to coordinate the strong suck-swallow-breathe pattern required for efficient nursing. When parents rely on baby formula to feed vulnerable infants, they trust that the manufacturers are honest and forthright in their production and marketing of this vital source of nutrition and hydration for tiny babies. Sadly, some parents of premature infants learned that the infant baby formula they trusted to nourish their vulnerable premature or low-birth-weight infants caused a serious and sometimes deadly illness, requiring invasive surgeries, risky treatments, and sometimes ending in fatalities or a lifetime of medical complications.
Baby formula mega-manufacturers, Abbott and Mead Johnson, producers of Enfamil and Similac formulas and fortifiers, failed to adequately warn or inform parents of the risks of their products and marketed them as “safe for premature infants,” despite their association with the life-threatening intestinal disease, Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). These manufacturers failed to further investigate the link between cow’s milk-based infant formula and NEC. Further, they neglected to include warnings about the risks of NEC in premature infants who consume their products. By placing profits above the health and safety of their most vulnerable consumers, these mega-manufacturers caused great harm to many infants and their families.
There’s nothing worse than watching your already medically vulnerable newborn fight for his or her life due to a preventable injury caused by a product marketed as safe for premature infants. When the formula fed to a tiny infant contains bacteria that an immature intestine isn’t equipped to combat and the result is a life-threatening illness or the untimely death of a newborn, you need a strong litigator to represent your family’s rights and interests.
Parents of premature babies around the United States are filing successful NEC baby formula lawsuits against the powerful formula companies who falsely represented their product’s safety. The attorneys at the Arizona law firm of Knapp & Roberts have over 2 decades of experience navigating product injury claims. Our strong local reputation in the Phoenix area, powerful resources, and access to the best medical experts can help maximize your compensation for the injury caused to your baby and your family. We are ready to craft a compelling case against the powerful manufacturer of the formula that harmed your vulnerable child. Let us put our passionate dedication to righting this wrong to work on your behalf by calling our Phoenix area law firm today to talk about your child’s experience with deadly NEC contracted from baby formula.
NEC is widely known as the most serious gastrointestinal illness to affect newborn infants, particularly vulnerable premature babies with immature digestive systems. Diagnosis of Necrotizing Enterocolitis is a life-threatening emergency requiring surgical treatment which is in itself a tremendous risk to premature infants.
NEC typically begins showing symptoms in the second or third week of a newborn’s life. It begins with the growth of dangerous bacteria from a component of cow’s milk called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. The bacteria multiplies in the newborn baby’s intestines, causing inflammation, infection, and the sloughing off of the lining of the intestines. In some cases, the death and sloughing of intestinal tissue cause a hole to form in the intestine through which deadly bacteria leak into an infant’s abdominal cavity and/or bloodstream placing them at risk for deadly sepsis. Babies with NEC infections that perforate an infant’s intestines require emergency surgery to remove the damaged section of the bowel.
Premature infants (born before week 37 of pregnancy) may be most at risk of developing NEC. Babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds may also face increased risk.
The bacteria identified as causing NEC has been found in several popular baby formula brands produced by both Abbott and Mead Johnson companies.
Similac baby formula, manufactured by Abbott Laboratories, has been named in multiple lawsuits as having produced baby formula containing the deadly bacteria that pose a significant risk to premature and medically fragile babies. NEC has long been linked to cow’s milk and dairy-based baby formulas. The Similac formulas associated with increased risk of NEC include the following:
Similarly, baby formula mega-brand, Enfamil, manufactured by Mead Johnson, has been linked to multiple products causing serious injuries in some premature and low birth-weight infants including the following cow’s milk-based formulas:
All of the above cow’s-milk-based baby formulas and fortifiers were marketed by both Enfamil and Similac companies as safe for premature infants and some brands were marketed specifically for preemies, yet 1 in 1,000 premature or low birth weight infants fed cow’s milk-based infant formula contract NEC. Further, 1 in 10,000 full-term infants fed formula contract NEC.
Feeding infants whole milk from cows has long been associated with the risk of intestinal bleeding and anemia. Cow’s milk contains large molecules that a human infant’s digestive system isn’t equipped to process, sometimes causing kidney problems and other health issues. When cow’s milk is processed into baby formula in both liquid and powdered varieties, the size of the molecules is adapted to facilitate human-friendly absorption. Manufacturers also add specific micronutrients to make it more closely resemble human milk. In recent decades, further improvements to infant formula add immune-boosting nutrients similar to those naturally found in human breast milk.
While processed cow’s milk-based baby formulas have saved the lives of countless infants who were unable to consume their mother’s milk for a variety of reasons, studies have also revealed potential hazards associated with cow’s milk-based formulas and fortifiers, especially when they are fed to medically fragile infants. Babies fed dairy-based formula are more likely to experience the following:
While the majority of infants thrive when fed baby formula, the outcomes for medically fragile infants like preemies can be life-threatening. Sadly, most parents are not fully informed of these risks when their premature infants receive cow’s milk-based infant formulas in the NICU or when they feed infant formula to their premature infants at home.
he manufacturers of two of the most widely-used baby formulas in the United States, Mead Johnson, and Abbott Laboratories understood that there were risks involved with feeding infants their products, especially premature and medically fragile newborns. The greatest risk to babies with immature digestive systems is a single component of cow’s milk called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy which causes life-threatening NEC. Despite warnings from multiple scientific and medical groups, both manufacturers failed to properly investigate the link between cow’s milk-based infant formulas and NEC.
TFurther, these manufacturers failed to warn parents of the danger to premature infants and marketed cow’s milk-based products specifically for premature babies. The product labels on both Enfamil and Similac formulas contain no warnings and do not properly instruct parents on how to safely feed cow’s milk-based products to premature infants. Had parents been adequately warned of the dangers, they may have chosen to feed their infants other options including:
When manufacturers fail to warn of known dangers associated with their products and don’t provide adequate instructions for safe use, they are liable for damages caused to the individuals who use these products.
Parents of children harmed by NEC due to consuming cow’s milk-based infant formulas are holding these mega-manufacturers responsible for their wrongdoing. These manufacturers failed in their duty to take reasonable measures to keep their consumers safe.
If your baby suffered a life-threatening illness, you deserve compensation for damages caused to your child and your family. If your case meets the following criteria, you may have a case for an NEC baby formula lawsuit in Arizona:
Even if your baby was never diagnosed with NEC, you may still qualify for a baby formula lawsuit in Arizona if your premature infant was fed cow’s milk-based formula and suffered any of the above illnesses or endured surgery for intestinal resection after a perforated bowel.
In some cases, parents with premature infants who suffered from NEC during their stays in the NICU may not know what type of formula was fed to their infant. Also, some breastfeeding mothers may not have been informed that formula was given to their child during a NICU stay, but now suspect their child’s NEC was caused by ingesting cow’s milk-based infant formula. An NEC baby formula lawyer can gain access to complete medical records from the facility that treated your child to determine if your premature infant received formula and what brand was ingested.
An Arizona NEC baby formula lawsuit attorney is ready to evaluate your case to see if you qualify for a lawsuit to recover damages.
When major manufacturers like Mead Johnson and Abbott Laboratories—makers of Enfamil and Similac formulas—fail to warn parents of dangers associated with their products, their families deserve to recover damages for the harm the products caused. While financial compensation cannot erase an emergency surgery, lifelong medical complications, or a child’s death, it can help open doors to medical care, ease financial burdens, and help families to move forward from their anguish. Parents can recover the following damages:
The compassionate attorneys at the Arizona law firm of Knapp & Roberts can craft the most compelling case to maximize the compensation you receive for your child’s injury. Families who’ve suffered the effects of an infant fighting an NEC infection witness the immense pain, suffering, and trauma the illness causes to a vulnerable premature infant who may already be dealing with medical conditions related to their premature birth. While pain and suffering and emotional trauma are intangible damages, they cause more anguish than economic damages. The children who were harmed, and their parents who suffered the trauma of watching their child’s life and death struggle, deserve full compensation for their suffering.
Parents naturally trust the safety of a product developed and marketed to nourish fragile premature infants. Sadly, many parents of injured children now have to watch their children struggle with a lifetime of medical complications related to bowel resections and the other life-saving procedures they endured due to their deadly infections. Worse, some parents lost their new babies to this deadly illness and will never see them grow up at all. No parent expects to outlive their child.
While no one relishes a legal process such as a complex product liability lawsuit, filing a claim against powerful manufacturers like Abbott and Mead Johnson, sets a new standard of accountability for their manager’s decisions to prioritize profits over the safety of their most vulnerable consumers. A successful claim not only holds these manufacturers accountable but also ensures that parents receive monetary compensation for their losses. While financial compensation cannot bring back a beloved child or undo a child’s suffering, it can help parents gain access to the best medical care, therapies, and other means to facilitate the best possible recovery. It can also help grieving parents gain closure and begin moving forward from an unimaginable loss.
While hundreds of parents have filed individual lawsuits against the major baby formula manufacturers responsible for the harm to their children, multidistrict litigation has helped consolidate these separate actions for a more streamlined litigation process.
New information has come to light on the impacts of NEC and the multidistrict litigation against the manufacturers of Enfamil and Similac products.
An attorney at Knapp & Roberts can answer your questions about multidistrict litigation and how it impacts your potential baby formula NEC claim.
At Knapp & Roberts, our Phoenix product liability lawyers understand the suffering associated with babies diagnosed with NEC and facing lifelong consequences or worse—babies who lost their lives to this deadly illness. We focus our full attention and plentiful resources on carefully proving liability and documenting your damages to gain full compensation.
Contact our Phoenix NEC baby formula lawyers today so we can protect your rights and interests throughout the legal process and seek not only to secure compensation for your damages but also to hold powerful manufacturers accountable for the negligence or wrongdoing that led to your vulnerable child’s suffering. At Knapp & Roberts, we wish to ensure that the world hears the story of the harm caused to your child and the impacts of the damage on your family life.
Contact our personal injury law firm in Phoenix today for a free evaluation of your case so we can begin strategizing on the best way to move forward toward your recovery.
The personal injury attorneys in Phoenix, Arizona at Knapp & Roberts have the compassion and trial lawyer skills to tell your story to a jury. We will get to know you and your family so that we can help the jury understand what has happened to you and your family and how it has changed your lives. Obtain the compensation necessary for the injuries and losses you have suffered.
