Multiple suits were filed on Tuesday against Abbott Laboratories, one by Keyonna William in the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division and one by Alyana Childs in the District Court for the District of Columbia. The suits come as Abbott has recently become wrapped up in recurring litigation regarding their infant formulas.
Abbott is a manufacturer and seller of infant formula products, including well-known brands like Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a statement in February warning consumers against purchasing and using infant formula products produced at the defendant’s Sturgis, Michigan facility.
The statement followed the FDA’s investigation of “consumer complaints of Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport infections connected to powdered infant formula products produced by Abbott.” Just one day after the statement, Abbott recalled a host of its powdered infant formula products due to their potential to cause “serious injury, permanent impairment, and even be life-threatening.”
The recalled products allegedly contained Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella, which can cause serious health effects in infants. William’s complaint specifies that Abbott did not replace or credit consumers who had purchased the recalled products, despite many parents relying on the products to feed their children. William contends that she would not have purchased or would have paid significantly less for the product had she known about its defects.
William’s complaint cites breach of implied warranty of usability and merchantability, negligent failure to warn, negligent recall, a violation of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, and unjust enrichment. William seeks class certification, favorable judgment on all counts, damages, reimbursement, and any other relief the Court deems proper. William is represented by Sommers Schwartz, P.C. in the litigation.
The separate complaint filed by Childs emphasizes that the defendant’s products came with inadequate warnings regarding the risk of consumption. She explains that the defendant’s products caused her premature infant to develop “bright red stools with increasing abdominal distention,” and later on, life-threatening necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC. The infant was eventually required to undergo surgery as a result of the NEC and lost portions of his bowel which caused permanent injury.Childs’ complaint cites strict liability, negligence, and failure to warn. Childs is seeking compensatory damages, past, present, and future out-of-pocket costs, interest, litigation fees, and other relief deemed just by the Court. Childs is represented by Paulson & Nace, PLLC and Levin, Rojas, Camassar, and Reck, LLC.