The parents of a baby girl who was just 13 days old and died last year after authorities say she drank tainted formula may be suing Abbott Nutrition, a major manufacturer of formula.
Kentucky newborn baby Willow Jade Delakira died on Nov. 5, 2023, after contracting a dangerous bacterial infection that caused a stroke on the right side of the brain, her mother said this week.
Records show the deadly bacteria, Cronobacter sakazakii, may have come from a can of Similac Total Comfort formula that was used to bottle-feed babies.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” Cheyenne Ping, 25, said.
“No one should have to go through this.”
Abbott was forced to close a plant in Sturgis, Michigan, in 2022 after testing found widespread contamination at the facility following reports of similar infant deaths and illnesses.
The temporary closures have left parents scrambling to find baby formula.
An Illinois judge ruled Wednesday that Christian Delaquila, 26, the father of Ping and Willow, can file a lawsuit against Abbott.
The couple sought to join two other families in the lawsuit who claim their children suffered severe brain damage from Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria linked to another type of Abbott formula, Similac Neosure.
But the judge asked that the three lawsuits be filed separately for now.
Other lawsuits include a Missouri infant who became ill at 6 weeks old in March 2023 and a 4-week-old infant in Illinois who became infected with the bacteria in July 2021, officials said.
Luckily, they both survived.
The lawsuit seeks damages of at least $450,000 per household.
Willow has been making baby formula at its Sturgis plant and selling it at Walmart since more than a year ago when Abbott came under court-ordered oversight by the Food and Drug Administration.
The other babies were drinking formula made at an Abbott plant in Arizona that has also been investigated in the past for allegations of unsafe conditions, according to federal records.
Abbott has argued that there is no proven link between the products that are the subject of the lawsuit and the infections.
“No sealed products shipped from our facilities have tested positive for Cronobacter sakazakii and we believe these allegations are unfounded,” Abbott officials said in an email.
The bacteria can be found in household kitchens on sinks, counters, and even measuring scoops for powdered milk.
This bacteria is also present in factories and equipment.
Federal officials said they found evidence of Cronobacter in an open can of Abbott formula at Willow’s home and confirmed it was the cause of her infection, but documents show the same strain was not found in sealed cans of formula or at Abbott plants.
That doesn’t prove the products aren’t contaminated, said Barbara Kowalczyk, director of the Center for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University.
“If the test is negative, it doesn’t tell us as much as if it was positive,” Kowalczyk said. “If it’s positive, we’re in big trouble. If it’s negative, we don’t know what’s going on.”
With post wire
