NEC Infant Formula Lawsuits
Was Your Formula-Fed Premature Infant Diagnosed with Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC)? If so, you may be entitled to significant compensation. Contact Burns, Cunningham & Mackey at 800-574-4332 today to get started on your claim!
Studies show that cow milk-based infant formula for premature babies dramatically increases their risk of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) while also slowing their development. When premature infants are fed cow milk-based baby formula rather than receiving breastmilk, they are three times more likely to develop NEC. But formula manufacturers like Enfamil and Similac have been marketing these products for years with no warnings, instructions, or guidelines regarding the risk of NEC.
What is Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC)?
NEC is a serious and potentially deadly condition that essentially destroys or severely injures the infant’s intestine. This condition most often occurs in premature infants that have a low birth weight, but it can also happen to full-term or near full-term babies. Symptoms of NEC may include:
- Bloody stools
- Abdominal distention
- Vomiting bile-stained fluid
- Pneumatosis intestinalis – identified by an abdominal x-ray
Symptoms typically occur within four weeks after birth, and the most likely outcomes are death, bilateral blindness, and cerebral palsy. NEC is believed to affect about one out of every thousand premature babies, with the greatest risk being among infants who weigh less than two pounds. About one out of every 10,000 full-term babies contract NEC.
What is the NEC Infant Formula Lawsuit All About?
Studies dating all the way back to 1990 have firmly established a link between cow milk-based baby formula and NEC among low-birth-weight premature infants. Therefore, it is reasonable to surmise that formula manufacturers have been aware (or should have been aware) that their products are far more likely to cause NEC among this group of infants than if they received their mother’s breast milk. Despite knowing all of this, the manufacturers have done nothing to change their products or even warn consumers of this danger.
Enfamil and Similac and their partners produce over two dozen cow’s milk-based formulas that are marketed for premature babies. These companies have been very aggressive in getting their products into hospitals, often providing them to hospitals and NICU units free of charge. Their hope is that the mothers of these infants will continue using their formula after they are discharged – believing that the child is now dependent on it.
We have seen a number of cases in which a premature infant was thriving while being fed their natural mother’s breast milk and then developed NEC after the NICU staff switched the newborn over to a cow milk-based infant formula. But for the use of the cow milk-based formula, the baby would have been discharged from the hospital on time and without incident. It is estimated that there are several thousand cases like these around the country.
Sadly, most infants that develop NEC either die or end up with severe long-term health problems. And manufacturers who aggressively market their cow milk-based formula for premature infants must be held fully accountable. Otherwise, they will continue to market their product without regard for the lives of these innocent children that they are putting at risk.
Contact Us Today to Get Started on Your NEC Infant Formula Claim
If you had a premature baby who died or suffered severe side effects after being fed a cow milk-based formula from Enfamil and Similac or another manufacturer, act now and take the first step toward obtaining justice for your child by setting up a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our attorneys.
To get started, call our office today at 800-574-4332 or contact us online. We are ready to go to work for you!