Case Explained: IN RE: ABBOTT LABORATORIES, et al., PRETERM INFANT NUTRITION PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION ERICKA MAR, as administratrix of the ESTATE OF RAILEE MAR v. ABBOTT LABORATORIES

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Filed: 2026-07-24 The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Abbott Laboratories in a products liability action brought by the mother of a preterm infant who died from necrotizing enterocolitis after being fed cow’s-milk-based formula. Applying West Virginia law, the court held that the plaintiff failed to establish causation under her failure-to-warn theory because she could not demonstrate that an alternative warning would have prevented her daughter’s death. The court reasoned that the proposed counterfactual inferences were speculative: treating physicians already knew of the risks associated with formula feeding; hospital policy prohibited the use of unpasteurized donor milk from other patients due to disease transmission risks; and establishing a formal donor milk program was a resource-intensive process that would not have been feasible in time. Additionally, the court affirmed the denial of the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), ruling that the proffered new witness testimony was not newly discovered because it was available during discovery and would not have altered the outcome. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.