Reckitt Benckiser will seek to “overturn” a US court decision awarding $60m in damages to the mother of a baby that died after being fed Enfamil infant formula.
The media platform Law.com reported that an Illinois jury granted the damages against the UK-based CPG major’s baby-food unit Mead Johnson, the maker of the Enfamil brand, on Wednesday (13 March).
Reuters reported the premature baby of Jasmine Watson died from the intestinal disease necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) after being given Enfamil formula.
The news agency said the jury sitting on the case in the Illinois state court in St. Clair County found Mead Johnson was ‘negligent’ because the company failed to warn mothers of the risks to premature babies from NEC as a result of consuming infant formula.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US, NEC is a life-threatening illness with a mortality rate of up to 50% and mostly affects “neonates”.
“The pathophysiology of NEC is inflammation of the intestine leading to bacterial invasion causing cellular damage and death, which causes necrosis of the colon and intestine,” NIH says.
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Reckitt defended the company’s position in a statement posted on its website today (15 March).
“We stand by the safety of our products. We do not believe that any of our products cause NEC. 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,” the company said.
“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. We will pursue all options to overturn the verdict.”
Reuters carried a statement from Ben Whiting, the lawyer of Ms. Watson: “This verdict confirms what Mead Johnson has known for years: cow’s milk-based baby formula causes NEC in pre-term infants, often with fatal consequences.”
Separately to the case involving Ms. Watson, Reckitt initiated a recall in the US late last year related to Mead Johnson’s Nutramigen Powder due to possible contamination from the Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria.
Batches of Nutramigen Powder were recalled as a precautionary measure in December. Reckitt said tests carried out by Mead Johnson proved negative for the pathogen, which can cause serious illness, particularly in children.
The recall was extended to the UK in January.
