Morris County woman sues Similac-owned company for premature infant's death
A Morris County woman has joined other mothers nationwide taking aim at the Chicago-based company that makes Similac, claiming the cow's milk-based baby formula caused the death of her premature infant.
Nicole Cresap, in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Northern Illinois, accuses Abbott Laboratories of marketing their formulas as safe for premature infants, despite knowing medical and scientific studies have proved otherwise. Their products, the suit claims, can cause necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a life-threatening bacteria illness that may lead to the death of preterm babies.
Abbott, which also produces adult supplements Ensure and Glucerna, was aware their cow's milk-based formulas were "significantly increasing" the deaths of premature infants, but chose not to contact the United States Food and Drug Administration, hospitals and physicians to inform them of the risk, the 69-page suit states.
"Abbott has spent decades researching, developing, testing and producing formulas for premature infants, and countless infants have benefited tremendously from these formulas," said Karen Twigg May, a spokesperson for the company. "These allegations are without merit."
About the infant
Cresap's daughter Kennedy Hayes was born on Dec. 30, 2021 at 24 weeks and 6 days gestation. She weighed 1 pound, 9 ounces and was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit at Morristown Medical Center.
The baby was initially provided breast milk or donor milk fortified with Similac Human Milk Fortifier, and at times, supplemented with Abbott Nutrition Liquid Protein Fortifier. By February, the infant was transitioned to Similac Special Care 24 High Protein and 30 High Protein.
In March, the infant was diagnosed with NEC and underwent surgery to remove her intestines, but suffered multi-system organ failure and cardiac arrest that led to her death, the suit states.
Cresap, who is seeking unspecified damages in the wrongful death suit, said her daughter's death could have been avoided had she fed her an exclusive diet of breast milk, donor milk or human milk-derived formula.
About NEC
NEC is a life-threatening illness almost exclusively affecting neonates with a mortality rate as high as 50%, according to a published study in the National Library of Medicine from earlier this month.
The gastrointestinal disorder, which causes necrosis of the colon and intestine, affects 7 to 12% of preterm infants weighing less than 3.3 pounds, and the frequency of the disease "appears to be either stable or risings in several studies," the study states.
A panel of federal judges ordered in April the consolidation of all infant-related NEC lawsuits against Abbott as well as Mead Johnson Nutrition, the company that produces Enfamil baby formula. Both formulas are widely used by doctors and hospitals for premature babies and both contain cow's milk-based products. U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer in the Northern District of Illinois is handling all claims.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said in their filing that 16 actions were pending across seven districts nationwide against Abbott alone, and there were another 20 potentially-related cases filed across eight districts. None is listed in New Jersey. It is likely, however, that lawsuits will increase as NEC injury lawyers continue to push to file claims.
Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NEC baby formula lawsuit: Morris mom says Similac caused infant death
