EDWARDSVILLE - The mother of a premature infant claims her child developed necrotizing enterocolitis after being fed Similac or Enfamil infant formula.
Laci M. Emmons, as representative of the estate of Mathias Emmons, filed a lawsuit on Jan. 19 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Mead Johnson and Company, LLC., Mead Johnson Nutrition Company and Abbott Laboratories.
The lawsuit alleges strict liability for design defect, strict liability for failure to warn, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty and loss of consortium.
According to the complaint, Mathias Emmons was born prematurely and was fed Similac or Enfamil infant formula while in the hospital. After consuming the unpasteurized cow's milk formula, Emmons developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and died on Jan. 20, 2020.
NEC develops when harmful bacteria breaches the walls of the intestine, causing portions of the intestine to become inflamed and usually die. Once NEC develops, the condition can progress quickly into fatal sepsis. NEC is six to 10 times more common to develop in premature infants who are fed unpasteurized cow's milk than in breast milk-fed babies. Roughly 30 percent of NEC-diagnosed infants die from the disease.
The plaintiff alleges that none of the defendants offered warnings on their products or through marketing that products were unsafe or could be harmful to premature infants. The plaintiff also claims they did not offer statistical data of the connection between NEC development and unpasteurized cow's milk, making them negligent.
Laci Emmons claims she was caused to suffer emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of income, loss of consortium, lost earning capacity, lost profits, out-of-pocket costs and medical expenses.
The plaintiff seeks compensatory damages, damages for past, present and future emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, mental anguish and other non-economic losses, past, present and future out-of-pocket expenses, loss of income and/or lost revenue, lost profits, lost business opportunity, lost earning capacity, cost related to medical or mental health treatment, interest, attorney's fees and court costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Erika Stassi of St. Louis.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 22-LA-000076