If your premature infant was fed a cow's milk-based formula like Similac or Enfamil and later developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), you may qualify for compensation.
Lawsuits allege that Abbott (maker of Similac) and Mead Johnson/Reckitt (maker of Enfamil) failed to adequately warn that cow's milk-based infant formula carries a significantly higher risk of necrotizing enterocolitis — a serious and sometimes fatal intestinal disease — in premature infants, compared to human milk or other alternatives. Cases were consolidated into a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL 3026) in the Northern District of Illinois in April 2022.
Several substantial verdicts have come out of this litigation: an Illinois state court awarded $60 million in March 2024, a Missouri state court awarded $495 million in July 2024, and a Chicago federal jury awarded $70 million against Abbott in April 2026. As of July 2026, roughly 810 cases remain pending in the federal MDL.
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The federal MDL remains active, with an Enfamil bellwether case (Inman v. Mead Johnson & Company, LLC) scheduled for trial in July 2026 and a second wave of bellwether trials expected to begin in August 2026. No global settlement has been reached; case outcomes so far have varied widely between state and federal courts.
Filing deadlines vary by state and generally run from your child's diagnosis or, in some states, from when you reasonably connected the diagnosis to the formula. With the federal litigation still active and new bellwether trials scheduled through 2026, it's worth having your timeline reviewed rather than assuming you've missed a window.
Abbott agreed in late August 2026 to pay $670 million to resolve roughly 2,000 claims that its preterm infant formula caused necrotizing enterocolitis, though about 1,700 lawsuits covering 12,700 infants remain pending against the company.
Read more →A St. Louis jury ruled for Mead Johnson on July 6, 2026 in a state-court trial over whether its Enfamil preterm formula caused an infant's necrotizing enterocolitis, a defense win as nearly 1,000 similar cases move through state and federal courts.
Read more →The first federal bellwether trial against Mead Johnson's Enfamil opened August 12, 2026, the start of a second wave of NEC baby formula trials scheduled through early 2027.
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