Health Law Daily Wrap Up, FOOD SAFETY—SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS: Abbott resolves portion of infant formula claims for $670M, (Aug 25, 2026)
Organizations Mentioned:American Academy of Pediatrics | Wyoming Industrial Development Corp.
By WK Editorial Staff
Approximately 1,700 lawsuits remain pending.
Abbott announced that it has reached agreements with three law firms to resolve a Missouri verdict and claims involving approximately 2,000 other individuals who alleged that the company's specialty formulas for preterm infants caused necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) (Abbott Press Release (Aug. 20, 2026)).
Under the agreements, Abbott will pay an aggregate amount of approximately $670 million to resolve the Gill case and the additional NEC-related claims. The company said the settlements follow a July 2024 St. Louis jury verdict awarding the plaintiff in the Gill case $495 million in damages. Abbott appealed the verdict to the Missouri Court of Appeals in December 2024, but the appeal was denied. According to the company, the settlement amount is slightly higher than the approximately $600 million that would have been required to satisfy the judgment and accrued interest.
Abbott stated that the agreements are a compromise of disputed claims and do not constitute an admission of liability. The company said it continues to stand by the safety of its preterm infant formulas and their role in caring for premature infants. Abbott also cited positions from the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, the NEC Society, neonatologists, and other medical professionals, which it said recognize the products as safe and necessary and do not find reliable scientific evidence linking them to NEC.
Favorable court rulings. The company said the settlements come after several favorable court rulings for preterm formula manufacturers in federal and state litigation. Abbott noted that manufacturers prevailed in all three federal multidistrict litigation bellwether cases involving preterm infant formula claims.
Among those rulings, Abbott highlighted a July 2026 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirming a pretrial judgment in its favor in the first federal bellwether case. The company also pointed to a June 2026 Illinois Appellate Court decision reversing a $60 million verdict against Mead Johnson and a March 2026 Florida state court ruling dismissing claims involving preterm infant formula under the learned intermediary doctrine.
Remaining litigation. Abbott said it believes the settlements are in its long-term interest and represent a step toward substantially resolving the broader litigation involving preterm infant formulas.
Following the agreements, the company said roughly 1,700 lawsuits remain pending in federal and state courts on behalf of approximately 12,700 individual infants. Abbott said that group includes claims involving individuals who named both Abbott and Mead Johnson without identifying which manufacturer's formula was used, individuals diagnosed with NEC before receiving formula, individuals who were never diagnosed with NEC, and individuals appearing in multiple lawsuits across different jurisdictions. The company said it will continue efforts to identify and eliminate such claims.
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