NEC Lawsuit

NEC Lawsuit : Fighting for Justice

You have the right to seek compensation if your child developed NEC from consuming a bovine milk-based formula. People for Law can help you file an NEC lawsuit and receive the compensation you deserve.

Countless parents and medical care providers in America rely on baby formulas to ensure that prematurely born or underweight infants receive the necessary nourishment. However, studies have shown that infants fed certain Similac and Enfamil formulas are at an increased risk of developing NEC.

NEC is a gastrointestinal condition that primarily affects premature or underweight infants, causing the death of the intestinal tissue. It has a fatality rate of up to 50%. The inflammation of the intestine caused by this condition can lead to perforations that result in the leakage of bacteria into the bloodstream or abdomen. It can lead to severe illness or deadly infections.

If your child was born premature or underweight at birth and was fed baby formula exclusively and not a combination of breast milk and baby formula, developing NEC as a result, you may be eligible to file an NEC Lawsuit.

What is Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC)?

Necrotizing Enterocolitis is a potent fatal disease that harms premature infants. The bacteria invade the interstitial wall, resulting in infection and inflammation. The bacteria damages and weakens the intestinal wall, leaking into the abdominal cavity. After a while, the lines of the baby’s intestines become inflamed, and parts of them start to die off. If not attended on time, NEC can cause a hole in the intestine, which can threaten infants’ lives. NEC partially or fully damages the baby’s bowel. The internal complexity reduces oxygen supply to the infant’s vital body organs, causing permanent harm.

The disease is more common in premature babies who are fed baby formulas than the babies who are on breast milk. The exact reason behind NEC is not fully clear yet, but according to health experts, an imbalance in the babies’ gut microbiome causes harm.

The lifetime impact of NEC on infants can vary based on the seriousness of the disease and whether the baby needs surgical intervention. The long-term implications include short-term bowel syndrome and development delays.

Causes of NEC

The direct cause of NEC is inconsistent, and the outcome can be different by child. The additional factors that can add to NEC include –

• Cow/Bovine milk-based formula
• Inadequate blood flow to the intestine after birth
• Underdeveloped intestine
• Bacterial intestinal infection
• Babies who have received blood transfusions
• Intestinal damage

Premature babies on the same baby formula respond and react to the disease at the same time. NEC is not infectious, so it implies that the harm caused due to consumption of the baby formula.

Countless parents and medical care providers in America rely on baby formulas to ensure that prematurely born or underweight infants receive the necessary nourishment. However, studies have shown that infants fed certain Similac and Enfamil formulas are at an increased risk of developing NEC.

NEC is a gastrointestinal condition that primarily affects premature or underweight infants, causing the death of the intestinal tissue. It has a fatality rate of up to 50%. The inflammation of the intestine caused by this condition can lead to perforations that result in the leakage of bacteria into the bloodstream or abdomen. It can lead to severe illness or deadly infections.

If your child was born premature or underweight at birth and was fed baby formula exclusively and not a combination of breast milk and baby formula, developing NEC as a result, you may be eligible to file an NEC Lawsuit.

What is Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC)?

Necrotizing Enterocolitis is a potent fatal disease that harms premature infants. The bacteria invade the interstitial wall, resulting in infection and inflammation. The bacteria damages and weakens the intestinal wall, leaking into the abdominal cavity. After a while, the lines of the baby’s intestines become inflamed, and parts of them start to die off. If not attended on time, NEC can cause a hole in the intestine, which can threaten infants’ lives. NEC partially or fully damages the baby’s bowel. The internal complexity reduces oxygen supply to the infant’s vital body organs, causing permanent harm.

The disease is more common in premature babies who are fed baby formulas than the babies who are on breast milk. The exact reason behind NEC is not fully clear yet, but according to health experts, an imbalance in the babies’ gut microbiome causes harm.

The lifetime impact of NEC on infants can vary based on the seriousness of the disease and whether the baby needs surgical intervention. The long-term implications include short-term bowel syndrome and development delays.

Causes of NEC

The direct cause of NEC is inconsistent, and the outcome can be different by child. The additional factors that can add to NEC include –

• Cow/Bovine milk-based formula
• Inadequate blood flow to the intestine after birth
• Underdeveloped intestine
• Bacterial intestinal infection
• Babies who have received blood transfusions
• Intestinal damage

Premature babies on the same baby formula respond and react to the disease at the same time. NEC is not infectious, so it implies that the harm caused due to consumption of the baby formula.

NEC – Treatment and Cure

When a baby is diagnosed with Necrotizing Enterocolitis, the doctors immediately stop oral food consumption for the babies and administer strong antibiotics. Nutrient supply continues until the infection moves away and the baby is completely healed. In some rare NEC cases, intestinal tissues decay and die. In such cases, surgical interventions are necessary to cut off the dead intestinal tissues. NEC surgeries may lead to short gut syndrome and other intestinal complications

Who is liable in a NEC baby formula lawsuit?

Numerous mass tort cases have been filed against bovine milk-based baby formula manufacturers, Abbott Laboratories, and Mead Johnson & Company. Products manufactured by these two companies have been discovered to cause NEC in premature and underweight newborns.

Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson & Company marketed their baby formula products as safe and even beneficial for premature or underweight infants. You may be entitled to claim damages against these companies if your child has developed NEC after being fed any of the products listed below:

In Florida, medical malpractice victims can file a claim against the healthcare professional within two years from the date of the injury or from the date the injury has been discovered.

Enfamil, Similac, and Other Baby Formulas Linked to NEC Risk

Similac (manufactured by Abbott) and Enfamil (manufactured by Mead Johnson) are the two most common cow-milk-based formulas associated with Necrotizing Enterocolitis.
Similac and Enfamil formulas belong to similar product lines containing different supplements to meet the specific nutrition needs of preterm babies.

As mentioned earlier, both manufacturers have been drawn to lawsuits. The parents filed lawsuits claiming that the brands caused their preterm babies to develop gastrointestinal disease, and the risk was not warned from the doctors’ or organizations’ end.

Distinction between the Date of Injury and the Date You Discovered It

You must know the dates of when the damage happened and when you discovered it. The formula might have damaged your infant earlier, but you did not realize it until later. Florida law allows the distinction but only to a point. The state does not permit you to file the claim if it’s over two years from the date of injury.

Who is Eligible to File An NEC Lawsuit?

Similac and Enfamil could not warn consumers of the risks associated with the products and their impact on premature babies. Parents whose kids were diagnosed with NEC after being on the baby formula can file lawsuits for compensation.

In case your child was on Similac and Enfamil by a healthcare organization, you must provide the name of the hospital and its location to your attorney. In case you fed your baby a Similac or Enfamil product after your baby was discharged from the hospital, and later you find out the loss, the receipt will do. The parents must keep the product receipts, cash memos, and formula packaging boxes for evidence to show up before the court through the baby formula lawsuit.

Our baby formula attorneys check and review NEC lawsuits for children who

1. Were on Similac and Enfamil Formula
2. Had premature birth
3. Were detected with NEC

In most of the cases, the attorneys accept the involvement of surgeries to treat NEC or wrongful death claims in case the child could not survive.

How to Prevent NEC?

Parents must stop Bovine milk consumption immediately for their babies. Medical professionals and healthcare organizations might recommend your baby bovine-based formulas. You should ask about the risks associated with NEC. If cow milk is a threat, request a formula not made from cow’s milk. Ask for a full review of your kid’s nutrition plan. Parents can also opt for human fortifiers or other similar products that are equally healthy alternatives to cow milk formula.

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that infants must be exclusively breastfed for 6 months. It can be beneficial for your child in the future, and the upsides include,

A. Secretion growth hormones

B. Boosted immune system

C. Reduced blood pressure level

Why NEC Lawsuits Claim Higher Trial and Settlement Amounts

In all NEC settlements doctors and hospitals were accused of not warning the consumers of the product’s potential risk. Mostly, the defendants in the medical malpractice cases turn out to be sympathetic. The doctors make honest confessions; therefore, the chances for punitive damages become small in most of these cases.

Often during the trial, NEC baby formula attorneys for the children and their families claimed that the manufacturers of Enfamil and Similac did not alert the doctors and parents as it could reduce their profit rate. High amounts of compensation and fair punitive damage awards are paid to the victims before they head to court trial.

How Long Does the NEC Lawsuit Take to Settle?

The NEC infant formula case is in its initial phase. Our dedicated attorneys believe that Enfamil lawsuits and Similac lawsuits are serious concerns for the manufacturers. The manufacturers are at risk of large verdicts that will drive high settlement compensation payouts.