What is Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC)?

Necrotizing enterocolitis is a relatively common disease among premature babies, particularly those who were fed a cow’s milk-based formula in the first weeks of their life. Babies fed breast milk and those babies who are born full-term with no other health issues rarely ever develop NEC. Necrotizing enterocolitis inflames the intestines, sometimes causing the tissue lining in the intestine to become inflamed, die, and slough off. NEC usually occurs within the first two to three weeks after birth among premature infants. Usually, these infants appeared to be getting healthier before they developed symptoms of NEC.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of NEC in Infants?

When an infant has necrotizing enterocolitis, the intestinal lining tissues become diseased and can die. The bacteria in the intestines can penetrate the dead or decaying intestinal tissues, entering the bloodstream. The infant may then be unable to properly digest food. The signs and symptoms of necrotizing enterocolitis in infants include the following:

• An inability to properly digest food
• Stomach swelling and distention
• Discoloration of the stomach area
• Diarrhea, sometimes containing blood
• Lethargy
• Vomiting green liquid
• Abnormal temperature or the inability to maintain normal temperature
• Episodes of apnea, a temporary stop in breathing
• Episodes of low heart rate
• A drop in blood pressure
• Weak pulse
• Fluid in the abdominal cavity
• Infection in the tissue lining of the stomach
• Difficulty breathing

Are There Long-Term Effects of NEC?

While most infants will recover from NEC and have no further feeding issues, some will develop narrowing and scarring of the bowel, which could potentially lead to future obstructions or blockages of the intestine. Others may suffer intestinal failure or NEC Totalis—the most severe form of NEC Short-term complications of NEC include infection, sepsis, failure to thrive, and, unfortunately, death. Babies that survive a severe case of NEC may have to deal with health challenges for life. Necrotizing enterocolitis results in the following long-term complications:

• Short gut syndrome when a significant portion of the intestines has been removed. Short gut syndrome or short bowel syndrome leaves the baby unable to absorb crucial nutrition and may need to be fed through a feeding tube and receive IV fluids.
• Neurodevelopmental delays are sometimes seen among children who had a serious case of NEC as an infant, preventing the child from reaching normal milestones. Vision and hearing issues, cognitive impairments, psychomotor impairments, and cerebral palsy are the most common issues seen among children who had NEC as an infant.
• The inability to properly absorb nutrients can prevent a child who had NEC as an infant from growing at a normal rate.
• Intestinal strictures can be caused by scarring within the intestines.
• Liver disease may be seen in infants who are fed for a prolonged period through a feeding tube and IV.

How Does the Florida Statute of Limitations Affect Your NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit?

If your baby developed necrotizing enterocolitis after being given a cow’s milk-based formula at the hospital, you may choose to file a baby formula lawsuit. This lawsuit is dependent on your state’s statutes of limitations. Each state sets its own statutes of limitations or windows of time in which a plaintiff has to file a claim. These statutes may range from one year to ten years or more. The statutes in any given state may be the same for product liability, medical malpractice, personal injury, and wrongful death claims, or there could be different statutes for different types of claims.

For an NEC baby formula lawsuit, you would likely be filing a personal injury claim if your baby survived, a wrongful death claim if your baby died from necrotizing enterocolitis, or, in some cases, a medical malpractice or product liability claim. Some states apply the Discovery Rule, meaning there are exceptions made when the injury or harm is not discovered until later—or at a time when the harm should reasonably have been discovered. The Florida statutes of limitations are as follows:

• A wrongful death claim must be filed within two years of the death. Florida does not accept the Discovery Rule in wrongful death claims, so a claim must be filed within this two-year window of time.
• A personal injury claim in the state of Florida must be filed within four years from the date of the accident. While the Discovery Rule is usually reserved for medical malpractice claims, in some instances it could apply to a Florida personal injury claim if the injury was not reasonably discovered until after the statutes had run.
• A medical malpractice claim in Florida must be filed within two years from the date the harm or injury was discovered, or two years from when the harm or injury should reasonably have been discovered. Under the Discovery Rule, this time limit can potentially be extended.
• Product liability claims in Florida must be filed within four years of the date of the injury unless the product defect caused a death, in which case the wrongful death claim must be filed within two years. The Florida Statute of Repose bars product liability actions twelve years after a product with an “expected useful life” of ten years or less is first purchased by the consumer.

As you can see, the Florida statutes of limitations can be extremely complex. If your infant was harmed after developing necrotizing enterocolitis from a cow’s milk-based baby formula, it is essential that you speak to an experienced NEC baby formula lawsuit lawyer who can answer your questions and guide you through the claim process.

Should You Contact a Knowledgeable NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit Attorney?

Necrotizing enterocolitis is not something a new parent can prepare for. When NEC occurs, most parents will be making decisions regarding their baby’s health with very little information about the causes, treatments, and long-term consequences of necrotizing enterocolitis. If you believe your baby’s necrotizing enterocolitis was the result of the formula fed to your baby in the NICU or hospital, you could potentially benefit from an NEC baby formula lawsuit.

Mistakes that led to NEC may rise to the level of medical malpractice, or you may not have been informed of the potential harm of feeding your premature infant a cow’s milk-based formula. An experienced NEC baby formula lawsuit lawyer from Sullo & Sullo can advise you of your legal rights after comprehensively investigating the facts and circumstances of your infant’s necrotizing enterocolitis.

We will work with knowledgeable medical experts as we seek to show you were not given all the required facts and information before your baby was fed a bovine-based formula often manufactured by Mead Johnson or Abbott Laboratories. Although an NEC lawsuit will not change what happened to your baby and your family, it could provide the following:

• Medical expenses related to your baby’s NEC diagnosis as well as expenses related to long-term complications
• Other expenses related to the development of NEC in your infant
• Lost wages resulting from the time you were forced to take off work to care for your child with NEC
• The future lost earnings and pain and suffering for your child if there are long-term complications that lead to a diminished quality of life

If you are a resident of one of the following Florida locales whose baby was diagnosed with NEC after being fed a cow’s milk-based formula, you are encouraged to contact a knowledgeable NEC baby formula lawsuit attorney as quickly as possible.

Jacksonville, Florida

Miami, Florida

Tampa, Florida

St. Petersburg, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Hialeah, Florida

Tallahassee, Florida

Fort Lauderdale, Florida