A St. Clair County jury returned a $60 million verdict against Mead Johnson in the nation’s first trial on allegations that its Enfamil infant formula caused the death of a premature baby.
The trial began on Feb. 20 in Circuit Judge Patrick Foley’s courtroom and came to a close on March 13 when jurors reached a verdict in favor of plaintiff Jasmine Watson. The jury deliberated just hours before returning a verdict that was more than what the plaintiff’s counsel requested.
The jury found that Mead Johnson was negligent and failed to warn Watson of the risk of her premature infant, Chance Dean, developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) by consuming cow’s milk-based formula.
Watson’s case is the first of its kind to go to trial, but hundreds of similar lawsuits have been filed in Madison and St. Clair County Circuit Court.
Additionally, Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the Northern District of Illinois presides over nearly 400 similar cases in federal court by appointment of a judicial panel in Washington, D.C. Pallmeyer selected four plaintiffs for trial but has not yet set a date for those to begin.
Following the verdict, Mead Johnson indicated that it is considering an appeal. Owner Reckitt Benckiser Group released a statement that it stands by the safety of its products.
“We strongly reject any assertion that any of our products cause NEC, a serious gastrointestinal problem that mostly affects premature infants,” it stated.
“While we continue to offer our deepest condolences to Ms. Watson, we strongly disagree with the jury’s decision to fault Mead Johnson and award damages. We continue to believe that the allegations from the plaintiff’s lawyers in this case were not supported by the science or experts in the medical community. This was underscored during the trial by a dozen neonatologists,” it added.
“It is important to note that this is a single verdict in a single case and should not be extrapolated. This case, and others like it, exclusively involve products used under the strict supervision of neonatologists in neonatal intensive care units and provide lifesaving nutrition options for vulnerable premature infants. We are of course, surprised and deeply disappointed with the verdict and will pursue all options to have it overturned,” it continued.
Watson was represented at trial by David Cates of Swansea and Sean Grimsley of Denver.
Mead Johnson was represented at trial by Phyllis Jones of Washington D.C., Paul Schmidt of New York, and Donald Flack of Edwardsville.
According to the complaint, Chance Dean was born at 31 weeks and later died of NEC. Watson alleged Mead Johnson’s formula was unreasonably dangerous for premature infants, and the defendant failed to warn her of the danger.
Mead Johnson alleged the infant’s medical providers knew the benefits and risks of infant formula.
Prior to trial, Cates sought to preclude Mead Johnson from arguing before jurors that medical providers were the sole proximate cause of Chance Dean’s death.
In response, the defendant asserted that the infant’s treating physicians testified that they were aware of the risks associated with infant formula when they transitioned him.