Our Fort Lauderdale legal team at Schlesinger Law Offices, P.A. is known across the nation for our skill in representing victims of corporate negligence. On February 20, 2022, we filed a nationwide and Florida class action lawsuit on behalf of a family and others like them who suffered injury due to toxic baby formula products—namely Similac®, Alimentum®, and EleCare®—manufactured by Abbott Laboratories.
The lawsuit alleges Abbott put children at risk of injury via “numerous unfair and deceptive acts and practices designed to mislead the public in connection with their promotion, marketing, advertising, packaging, labeling, distribution and/or sale of” baby formula products. Plaintiffs claim that these products were toxic and, when ingested, caused bacterial infection and a spectrum of gastrointestinal illnesses.
Abbott’s negligence misled our clients into thinking that all its products were safe. Under this false pretense, they purchased the tainted Alimentum baby formula products and gave them to their child, who was then diagnosed with Salmonella.
According to the lawsuit, their child “developed severe gastrointestinal illness and symptoms including, but not limited to, overwhelming diarrhea multiple times per day, abdominal pain, constant temperature changes, severe diaper rash with blood, loss of blood, bloody stool, and sleeplessness.”
The child also became anemic, requiring antibiotics and “painful medicinal injections.” To this day, she continues to experience gastrointestinal issues, bowel problems, and more.
Unfortunately, our clients’ child is far from the only one to suffer bacterial infection due to Abbott’s toxic baby formula: As reported by The New York Times, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received four reports of bacterial infection from across the nation. Each cited Abbott’s toxic baby formula as the cause. One concerned Salmonella; three concerned Cronobacter sakazakii, a bacterium that may cause sepsis and/or meningitis.
The serious nature of these cases compelled the FDA to recall specific lots of Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare, all of which were manufactured in Abbott’s Sturgis, Michigan facility. Abbott complied with the recall on February 17, 2022, promptly pulling these toxic baby formula products off the shelves. It failed, however, to specify how many toxic baby formula units were affected by the recall.
“The recall, which comes during a drastic baby food shortage, affects certain lots of Similac, Alimentum and EleCare with expiration dates of April 1, 2022, or later,” The New York Times reported. “Products affected by the recall will also have a long sequence of numbers on the bottom of the container that starts with the first two digits 22 through 37, and contains K8, SH or Z2.”
Parents are advised to check the dates, manufacturing location, and product numbers of any Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare formula they have at home. The FDA also recommends that parents monitor their children’s health if they already ingested these products. If needed, parents should contact a qualified health care provider.
Read our press release here.
If your child suffered injury, including bacterial infection from Abbott’s toxic baby formula, you have rights. Find out if joining the class action lawsuit is right for you. Contact our Fort Lauderdale law firm online or at (954) 467-8800 for a free consultation.
