CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Tim Cronin delivering his opening statement
St. Louis, MO - A Missouri state court jury heard opening statements Wednesday in a closely watched trial over allegations that cows milk based-baby formulas manufactured by Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson pose a serious health risk to hospitalized infants, and the full proceedings are being webcast and recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiff Elizabeth Whitfield, who sued the companies on behalf of her son, claims cows milk-based formula given to premature infants in hospitals can cause a dangerous bowel inflammation called necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC. The condition can lead to major complications like brain injuries and has a twenty percent fatality rate, however the companies maintain their formulas safely provide critically needed nourishment to vulnerable infants.
The trial marks the first time Abbott and Mead Johnson face a jury jointly over allegations related to their baby formulas. Earlier this year an Illinois jury returned a $60 million verdict over Mead Johnson’s Enfamil brand formula in the first NEC baby formula trial anywhere in the country. A second trial last summer - and the first against Abbott - ended in a $495 million verdict of their Similac brand formula. That trial was also recorded by CVN.
The St. Louis-area hospital where Whitfield delivered her son is also a defendant in the current case.
Plaintiff attorney Tim Cronin of The Simon Law Firm told jurors during his opening statement that Abbott and Mead Johnson pursued an aggressive marketing strategy for their formulas despite allegedly knowing they posed a significant risk of causing NEC.
He explained that Whitfield’s son, born weighing just over 2.2 pounds, had to have over 80 percent of his bowel removed after developing the condition.
Cronin’s opening focused heavily on promotional materials used to sell the formulas directly to medical providers that allegedly lacked a sufficient warning about potential NEC risks. He contrasted those aggressive marketing efforts with internal company discussions about NEC risks supposedly withheld from the public.
Defense attorney James Hurst of Kirkland & Ellis, representing Abbott, told jurors during his opening statement that Whitfield’s son suffered from a variety of health conditions related to his premature birth that could have caused his illness. He noted multiple infections that required treatment with antibiotics that can disrupt gut bacteria.
CVN screenshot of defense attorney James Hurst delivering his opening statement
Hurst and Phyllis Jones of Covington & Burling, who represents Mead Johnson, both argued to jurors that their clients’ formulas provide vitally needed nutrition to thousands of premature infants every year without any complications, and that scientific studies linking cows milk-based formula with NEC are fundamentally flawed.
Jones also clarified to jurors that Whitfield’s son only received Mead Johnson’s formula on one occasion during his time in the intensive care unit.
The trial, expected to run roughly five weeks, is drawing widespread scrutiny due to its potential impact on related litigation. Thousands of baby formula NEC lawsuits are pending throughout the United States, many in federal multi district litigation consolidated in Illinois with a bellwether trial set for 2025.
CVN’s gavel-to-gavel coverage of the ongoing trial before Judge Michael Noble will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
The case is captioned K.W. a minor and through his next friend Elizabeth Whitfield v. St. Louis Children’s Hospital, et al. case number 2222-CC06214.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
