Reckitt Benckiser Unit Hit With a $60 Million Verdict in Enfamil Baby Formula Case in Illinois

An Illinois jury has ordered Reckitt Benckiser unit Mead Johnson to pay $60 million to the mother of a premature baby who died of an intestinal disease after being fed the company’s Enfamil baby formula.

The jury in an Illinois state court in St. Clair County on Wednesday found that Mead Johnson was negligent and that it failed to warn of the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). The disease, which causes the death of bowel tissue, mostly affects premature newborns and has a fatality rate of about 15% to 40%.

The $60 million verdict includes compensation for plaintiff Jasmine Watson’s loss and grief, and for the pain and suffering of her baby, Chance Dean. Reckitt Benckiser said on Friday it would pursue all options to have the verdict overturned.

Read the source article at Insurance Journal