Abbott agrees to US$670 million settlement of infant formula cases
About 1,000 similar lawsuits have been filed against Abbott and Mead Johnson,
Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay $670 million to settle legal claims filed by 2,000 plaintiffs who alleged harm from its specialty infant formula products for preterm infants. The settlement was reached with three law firms on August 20, 2026, and includes a large case where Abbott was previously ordered to pay $495 million.
The settlement comes after a 2024 jury in St. Louis found that Abbott's infant formula caused necrotizing enterocolitis, a severe bowel disease, in an Illinois girl. Abbott had appealed this verdict to Missouri's Supreme Court following an affirmation by a state court of appeals in May 2026.
Approximately 1,000 similar lawsuits have been filed against Abbott, which manufactures Similac formulas, and Mead Johnson, a unit of Reckitt that produces Enfamil formulas. The majority of these cases are consolidated in an Illinois federal court, with others pending in state courts including Illinois, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.
Necrotizing enterocolitis, primarily affecting premature newborns, leads to the death of bowel tissue and has a mortality rate estimated at over 20%. Both Abbott and Mead Johnson maintain that their formulas do not cause the disease, emphasizing that breast milk protects against it. The companies stated that their formulas are safe, despite the serious health risks posed by the disease in question.
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