EDWARDSVILLE — A Louisiana mother alleges her daughter suffers from a life-alerting and potentially deadly disease as a result of being fed Enfamil formula as a premature infant.
Larhonda Turner and Alicia Wyrick filed a complaint Aug 27 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Mead Johnson & Company LLC, Mead Johnson Nutrition Company and Abbott Laboratories, alleging strict liability for design defect and failure to warn, negligence, intentional misrepresentation and other claims.
According to the complaint, Alicia Wyrick was born prematurely on Aug. 25, 2001, at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. They allege that Wyrick was fed Enfamil cow's milk-based formula after her birth and shortly after developed necrotizing entercolitis (NEC), which has caused her to require surgery and suffer long-term health effects. They allege the defendants' formula packing fails to properly warn of the risk of NEC despite their knowledge that their products significantly increase the risk for premature infants. The plaintiffs also allege Mead and Abbott falsely claimed their cow's milk-based infant formulas are safe and beneficial for premature infants and similar or equivalent to breast milk.
The plaintiffs seek monetary relief, trial by jury and all other proper relief. They are represented by Eric Holland and Ann Callis of The Holland Law Firm in Granite City and Travis Lenkner and Ashley Keller of Keller Lenkner LLC in Chicago.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 21-L-001042