In August 2021, Margo Gill was 26 weeks pregnant when her blood pressure spiked, prompting her to seek medical attention at St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis County. After her fetus’s heartrate dropped dramatically, St. Mary’s neonatal unit intervened, performed an emergency c-section and delivered Gill’s daughter (Infant), weighing 777 grams (1 pound 11.4 ounces) and just 12 inches in length. Considering Infant was extremely premature, medical personnel transferred her to Cardinal Glennon’s comprehensive neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the City of St. Louis.
When Infant was just over a month old and weighing 1370 grams, her Cardinal Glennon NICU team switched her food source from fortified human breastmilk to Abbott Laboratories, Inc.’s (Abbott) Similac Special Care 24 High Protein (SSC24HP) or preterm formula. Switching premature infants from human milk to preterm formula at 32 weeks gestational age, regardless of weight, was consistent with Cardinal Glennon’s nutritional protocol at the time.
Within the next 24 hours, Infant started vomiting and her abdomen enlarged to abnormal levels. Consequently, physicians removed 80 percent of her small intestine in surgery and diagnosed her with Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), a disease that attacks intestinal tissue. Ultimately, the infection breached the intestine and entered the bloodstream before reaching Infant’s brain and causing severe permanent damage, including quadriplegic cerebral palsy. At the time Infant developed NEC, 80 percent of her feeding supply consisted of human milk with the balance supplemented by Abbott’s preterm formula.
On behalf of Infant and herself, Gill filed multiple negligence claims against Abbott asserting that its preterm formula caused, or contributed to cause, Infant’s NEC. In her First Amended Petition, she filed claims against Abbott for Strict Liability-Design Defect; Strict Liability-Failure to Warn; Negligent Design Defect and Failure to Warn; Intentional Misrepresentation and Negligent Misrepresentation. She dismissed the misrepresentation claims before trial and dismissed her Strict Liability-Design Defect claim at the close of all evidence. After a three-week trial occurring in July 2024, a City of St. Louis jury voted nine to three in favor of Gill, awarding $95 million in compensatory damages and $400 million in punitive damages. Abbott appealed.
On May 5, 2026, the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Division One affirmed, holding, in part: “We hold that through expert and other testimony Gill met her evidentiary burden to show Abbott’s formula caused, or contributed to cause, Infant’s NEC … Considering Gill demonstrated that Abbott was aware of the product’s increased risk to premature infants weighing less than 1500g yet did not put forth any effort to address the impending danger, we hold the $400 million award commensurate to Abbott’s total conduct as well as consistent with awards in similar Missouri cases … Abbott argues that the court erred in granting Gill’s summary judgment motion precluding Abbott from raising the “learned intermediary” affirmative defense, which would have allowed Abbott to shift its liability to the physician. Under this doctrine, the physician acts as a “learned intermediary” between the manufacturer and the patient … Abbott argues that the doctrine’s liability protection should extend to its preterm formula because the formula is a medical product designed for exclusive use in the NICU. We affirm the court precluding this defense because Abbott’s preterm formula is a food not a medical product … Gill presented ample evidence that if warned she would have intervened and requested that medical staff continue administering human milk over the preterm formula. Similarly, the medical professionals’ testimony reflects that they would have continued Infant on breast milk had Gill requested this preferred feeding source … Throughout the trial, the jury heard evidence that Abbott knew its formula posed significant risks to preterm infants weighing under 1500g yet made little effort to mitigate that risk. Such evidence is sufficient for a negligent design claim … Gill presented evidence of her negligent design theory focusing on Abbott’s use of glucose polymers instead of lactose and thus satisfied the elements required for her claim … Abbott argues that the court erred when denying its JNOV motion on Gill’s claim for punitive damages because Gill did not demonstrate intentional harm without just cause or a deliberate and flagrant disregard for others, considering preterm formula is needed in the NICU and Abbott took positive steps to inform the medical community of its risks. We disagree. Compelling evidence in the record shows that Abbott knew infants weighing under 1500g disproportionately developed NEC yet failed to take steps to remediate the risk … We affirm for the foregoing reasons. PER CURIAM.”
Source Gill v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc., ED113162.
If your premature baby suffered Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) after being fed formula, you should promptly find a NEC lawyer who may investigate your birth injury medical malpractice claim for you and represent you and your loved one in a NEC malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click here to visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find birth injury malpractice attorneys in your state who may assist you.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.