Mo. Jury Awards $495 Million to Plaintiff in Abbott Preterm Infant Formula NEC Case

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri state court jury handed down a $495 million verdict against Abbott Laboratories after finding that its cow’s milk-based preterm infant formula Similac and/or Enfamil caused a baby to develop a potentially deadly bowel disease known as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

Following a three-week trial, on July 26 the St. Louis Circuit Court jury awarded plaintiff Margo Gill $400 million in punitive damages and $95 million in compensatory damages on her claims for defective condition, failure to warn, and negligence. Judge Michael Noble presided over the bellwether trial.

Gill, who sued on behalf of herself and her …