First NEC Baby Formula Settlement

NEC Baby Formula Update – by Attorney Jeff Keiser.

Damages Awarded

The NEC Baby Formula cases have been quiet the last few months, but we have some fantastic news to share.

Last Thursday (March 14, 2024), an Illinois jury awarded the first plaintiff to present their case a staggering $60 million in damages. Mead Johnson was the defendant in that case, based on their Enfamil product.

Plaintiff attorney Ben Whiting said, “This verdict confirms what Mead Johnson has known for years: cow’s-milk based baby formula causes NEC in preterm infants, often with fatal consequences.”

Of course, Mead Johnson plans to appeal based on the science, but I don’t expect it to work.

Slow Progress

Of course, that’s just the state courts. The MDL has been moving slowly, but progress is being made.

Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer recently told lawyers working the case that she may monitor discovery depositions to make sure that all parties were complying with the court’s orders.

As of today, there are more than 450 cases pending in the MDL, and if the state court ruling yesterday has done anything, it should open the door to a potential global settlement.

We remain disappointed that the discovery deadline was recently pushed to June, resulting in the final bellwether pretrial conference being pushed to March 2025.

But make no mistake – these are some high dollar value cases, if you can find them.

Stay tuned.

Craig H. Alinder, Vice President

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