Jack Garvey, a founding member of Stranch, Jennings & Garvey (SJ&G), was invited to participate in a panel discussion at the NEC/Infant Formula session of the Mass Torts Made Perfect fall seminar, held Oct. 8-10, 2024, at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
Garvey served as co-lead counsel for the plaintiff in a closely watched necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) baby formula bellwether trial held in July 2024 in St. Louis, Missouri. The case, Gill v. Abbott Laboratories, No. 2322-CC01251, was brought by the mother of a minor child who had developed NEC after being given Similac cow’s milk-based products following her premature birth. The infant was forced to undergo extensive surgery and has continued to suffer long-term health consequences.
of the Mass Torts Made Perfect 2024 fall seminar.
The lawsuit asserted that “despite scientific consensus that defendants’ cow’s milk-based products present a dire threat to the health and development of preterm infants, defendants have made no changes to their products or the products’ packaging, guidelines, instructions, or warnings. Instead, defendants have continued to sell their unreasonably dangerous products to unsuspecting parents and healthcare providers, generating huge profits as a result.”
The lawsuit also claimed the defendants breached their duty through misrepresentations made to consumers, physicians and medical staff in their advertising and promotional materials and interactions, and that Abbott’s acts, omissions and/or representations showed a deliberate and flagrant disregard for the safety of others.
Following the four-week trial, the jury awarded the Gill family $400 million in punitive damages and $95 million in compensatory damages. The $495 million judgment could potentially affect many other NEC lawsuits awaiting litigation in state and federal courts throughout the U.S.
Gill v. Abbott Laboratories marked the first NEC case brought against Abbott and was the second trial alleging that cow’s milk-based baby formula given to premature infants can cause NEC. In the earlier case, Watson vs. Mead Johnson, an Illinois jury awarded $60 million to a plaintiff whose child died from NEC.
During the NEC/Infant formula session, Garvey discussed the evidence adduced at trial regarding Abbott’s punitive conduct, Abbott’s liability and failure to warn on the label for Similac Special Care 24 (specifically sold for premature infants), and the future of NEC litigation.
Garvey was joined in the discussion by fellow panelists Jack Plattenberger, co-counsel, TorHoerman Law; Chad Finley, co-counsel, TorHoerman Law; and Tim Becker, MDL attorney, Johnson Becker, PLLC.