A U.S. court has ordered Abbott Laboratories to pay nearly $500 million for concealing the risks associated with its premature-infant formula, which can cause a potentially fatal bowel disease. The jury's decision came after a mother won a case against the company. The St. Louis state court ordered Abbott to pay $95 million in compensation to the affected family and $400 million in punitive damages.
The case was filed by a mother whose premature baby girl developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and suffered brain damage after consuming Abbott's Similac Special Care 24, a cow's milk-based formula. This case is one among more than 1,000 similar claims against Abbott and other formula makers.
Lawyers for the family argued that Abbott failed to disclose the NEC risks on the product label and did not inform parents that the formula could lead to brain damage or death. They claimed that Abbott had known for years about the risks of its cow's milk-based formula but kept this information hidden, refusing to warn families and physicians.
Abbott, however, disputes the court's decision, arguing that the formula does not cause NEC and that the baby had pre-existing health issues. The company maintains that there is no scientific evidence linking its formula to NEC. An Abbott spokesperson stated that the company "strongly disagreed" with the verdict, noting that it was not unanimous, and vowed to pursue all avenues to overturn the decision