Premature children and infants generally require extra care to grow and develop healthily. Many pediatric doctors advise many mothers to feed their newborns baby formula products because they offer nutritional benefits to them, especially if they cannot breastfeed (premature babies). However, some of these baby formula products are not safe for infants and premature babies, for example, Similac.

Although Similac gives an infant the calories it needs to grow, this baby formula product puts an infant at risk of developing a life-threatening intestinal infection known as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). If your infant was recently diagnosed with NEC after feeding Similac, you could sue this product manufacturer for their failure to warn about these fatal side effects of their product.

With the right attorney on your side during a Similac lawsuit, you could receive the compensation you are entitled to if your child has developed NEC after using this baby formula product. To understand more about the relationship between Similac and NEC in infants, we invite you to continue reading this article.

What You Should Know About Similac Baby Formula

Similac is typically a popular cow’s milk-based formula manufactured by Abbott Laboratories. Inc to substitute breast milk for premature babies and infants under twelve months. Typically, the manufacturing process of this product involves adding lactose (milk sugar) and replacing butterfat with other fats like vegetable oils. Below are three kinds of Similac for a premature baby:

  • Similac Special Care
  • Human Milk Fortifier
  • NeoSure

All the above products can increase the chances of an infant or premature baby developing NEC, and they come from the same company that manufactures Similac, Abbott Laboratories.

The Relationship Between Similac Baby Formula and NEC

Typically, NEC is a severe infection that mainly affects prematurely born babies. NFC is an infection any mother should worry about because it destroys the intestinal tissues of an infant, causing holes that allow bacteria to penetrate the abdomen area. When this happens, your child will begin developing a fatal infection that spreads throughout their body.

Even when your newborn baby survives this infection, they might be at risk of developing long term health complications like:

  • Failure to thrive
  • Chronic nutritional problems
  • Sepsis
  • Developmental delays
  • Intestinal adhesions, perforations, or strictures
  • Abdominal inflammation (peritonitis)
  • Liver illness (cholestasis)
  • Short bowel syndrome (especially after removal of a large part of their intestines during the treatment surgery)

However, most mothers are unaware that this infection is mainly due to a cow’s milk-based baby formula their premature babies feed on while in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), particularly a product known as Similac.

Typically, the doctor will mix breast milk with Similac to give the infant the calories and energy they need to grow. Unfortunately, an infant’s intestines are not mature to digest a cow’s milk (Similac) properly, leading to a life-threatening inflammation on their intestinal walls, also known as Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC).

According to medical experts from the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), there is a link between cow’s milk-based baby formula and NEC in infants. For this reason, they recommend that premature babies should only consume human breast milk.

In 1990, a study confirmed a premature infant is indeed six to ten times more at risk of developing NEC if they are exclusively feeding on a cow’s milk-based product instead of their mother’s breast milk. If your child is diagnosed with NEC after feeding on Similac, you could be eligible for compensation for the losses associated with their treatment.

Even if they succumb to death due to this infection, you could be eligible for compensation for the wrongful death in a Similac suit against the manufacturer of this defective product.

Current State of Similac Lawsuits

Although Similac lawsuits are new in the legal justice system, you could stand a chance of achieving the compensation you deserve if your child is diagnosed with NEC after feeding on Similac baby formula. Every week mothers file a product liability lawsuit against the maker of Similac for allegedly causing their babies to develop the deadly NEC.

Below are common “causes of action” in these Similac lawsuits against the maker of this deadly product:

  • Negligent misrepresentation
  • Strict product liability for making or designing a defective product
  • Negligence
  • Breach of warranty
  • Strict liability for refusing or failing to give proper warning on their product label about NEC risks on premature infants
  • Intentional misrepresentation
  • Wrongful death lawsuits (when your baby succumbs to death after developing NEC)

The death of an infant is the worst thing that can happen to a parent. No parent should go through this, especially if the cause of the death is a preventable infection like NEC, resulting from exclusive use of cow’s milk-based baby formula like Similac.

In May 2021, Abbott Laboratories was hit by their first wrongful death lawsuit after a baby born at thirty-one (31) weeks died of NEC. The parents of this baby filed a Similac lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories in the U.S District Court (in the Eastern District of California) on May 14, 2021.

If the makers of Similac are honest and ethical in their work, every bottle of Similac could display NEC risks to premature babies on its label. In that situation, parents would knowledgeably decide what to feed their babies instead of buying their defective product.

Unfortunately, their negligence has many infants fighting for their lives in hospitals after developing this deadly intestinal infection, which is nothing short of a monstrous crime.

What You Should Do If Your Baby is Diagnosed with NEC After Feeding Similac Baby Formula

To stand a chance of achieving the compensation you deserve if your child is diagnosed with NEC after feeding Similac cow’s milk-based baby formula, you should contact an attorney with experience in these types of cases.

Generally, these Similac lawsuits against Abbott Laboratories will likely consolidate into a Multi-District Litigation (MDL) because they involve several plaintiffs with similar complaints against the same defendant. If this lawsuit is successful, you will recover damages for the following types of losses:

  • Out-pocket-costs
  • Medical expenses
  • Pain and suffering
  • Funeral costs (if the baby is dead)

Find a Product Liability Attorney Near Me

Attorneys at Consumer Alert Now are ready to take your Similac caused injury case to hold the manufacturer of this defective cow’s milk-based baby formula responsible for your losses. If your infant is diagnosed with NEC after feeding Similac, our attorneys could help you seek the compensation you deserve in a Multi-District Litigation.

Call us at 800-511-0747 for a cost-free case evaluation by our reputable and profound attorneys wherever you are in the country.