Understanding Necrotizing Enterocolitis Causes

If your baby has been diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis, this can be a very difficult, frightening time for you. Necrotizing enterocolitis is severe intestinal inflammation that can result in necrotic or dead pieces of the intestine that must be removed. Once the necrotic parts of the intestine are removed, the baby may end up with long-term effects related to the removed intestine. Not all babies will require surgical intervention for their necrotizing enterocolitis and may be treated medically. These babies are likely to recover from NEC and may have no further effects from the necrotizing enterocolitis.

There are many different causes of necrotizing enterocolitis. A premature baby—one born prior to the 37th week, and especially those born prior to the 32nd week—has a much greater risk of being diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis. In fact, about one in every 2,000-4,000 premature infants will be diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis. These premature babies may have an underdeveloped digestive system, which ties in to the second cause of necrotizing enterocolitis. When a premature baby is fed a bovine-based baby formula, the formula can irritate the underdeveloped intestine, causing inflammation and leading to necrotizing enterocolitis.

Full-term, healthy babies as well as babies that are exclusively fed breast milk are unlikely to develop necrotizing enterocolitis. However, premature babies fed a bovine-based formula are very likely to develop NEC. The issue with this is that most parents and medical professionals are unaware that feeding their baby one of these popular formulas like Enfamil and Similac could cause a potentially deadly disease like necrotizing enterocolitis.

Yet the big formula manufacturers like Mead Johnson and Abbott Laboratories were aware of these risks—likely since 1990—yet took no steps to warn parents and medical professionals about the risks. Mead and Abbott manufacture almost 80 percent of all baby formulas in the United States. Most hospitals use Enfamil and Similac for newborns, including premature babies, despite the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Necrotizing Enterocolitis?

You may notice that your infant is not interested in feeding and may even be extremely lethargic or excessively fussy. The baby’s tummy may be red, purple, or pink, could be obviously distended, and may have tender spots. Other NEC symptoms include:

• A jaundiced appearance
• Abnormal breathing patterns or periods when the baby momentarily stops breathing
• Low blood pressure
• Blood in the stool
• Diarrhea
• Green or yellow bile in the baby’s vomit
• Changes in heart rate
• Unusual or rapid changes in the baby’s temperature
• Lack of weight gain
• Metabolic acidosis

If the baby’s NEC can be treated medically, all oral feedings will be ceased, and the baby will receive nutrients and liquids through an IV. Babies that require surgical intervention could have long-term neurological impairment, including cerebral palsy and vision and hearing issues. NEC infections in the intestinal wall can potentially spread to other bodily organs and can even result in cognitive and psychomotor impairments at 20 months and beyond. By the time the child reaches school age, cognitive deficits may persist, even including a poor attention span and a lower IQ than his or her peers.

A baby that has severe NEC can also suffer failure to thrive and grow since withholding feeding can contribute to long-term slowed physical development. Some infants that were forced to undergo surgery for their necrotizing enterocolitis could develop short bowel syndrome which can prevent the child and adult from being able to absorb the nutrition they need to grow and thrive. Intestinal strictures—narrow spots in the intestine due to scarring—may develop among infants with a severe case of NEC, making it difficult for food to pass through the intestines. When these strictures cause a serious problem with the child’s quality of life, surgery may be necessary.

What Are the Potential Benefits of Necrotizing Enterocolitis Baby Formula Lawsuits?

Mead Johnson and Abbott Laboratories have demonstrated a clear failure to warn. If parents and hospital personnel were widely aware of the risks of feeding a premature infant a bovine-based baby formula, they would almost certainly breastfeed exclusively or find an alternative to a cow’s milk-based formula. Necrotizing enterocolitis can require surgery and can keep your infant in the hospital for many weeks, or even months. The medical expenses can be astronomical. If your baby has long-term effects from necrotizing enterocolitis, medical expenses may be ongoing for many years. Aside from the medical expenses, baby formula manufacturers should be held accountable for failing to warn parents about the potential risks of bovine-based formulas when fed to a premature baby.

How the New York NEC Statute of Limitations Could Affect Your NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit

Parents whose premature babies developed necrotizing enterocolitis after being given a cow’s-milk based formula may choose to file an NEC baby formula lawsuit. There are statutes of limitations in place in each state that govern the amount of time you have to file your Similac and Enfamil lawsuit. If you exceed the amount of time allowed under the statute of limitations, you may be forever barred from bringing a claim for damages. There are certain exceptions to the statutes of limitations in some states. One of these exceptions is known as the Discovery Rule. Suppose it was not clear what caused the injury or harm during the allowed window of time. Later, that cause became clear. Is it now too late? That depends.

If your state has the Discovery Rule, and you did not discover your injury within the allowed time, the Discovery Rule could give you additional time. This would be true if another person—given the same set of circumstances—also would not have reasonably discovered the injuries and their cause. In this situation, you would be given extra time to file your lawsuit. then you have extra time under the Discovery Rule. There are also statutes of repose that often apply in product liability claims but can potentially apply in a medical malpractice lawsuit as well. It is essential that you speak to an experienced NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit attorney so you can be certain that you do not exceed your window of time to file a baby formula lawsuit. In the state of Vermont, the following statutes of limitations apply:

• Personal injury lawsuits in the state of Vermont have a three-year statute of limitations. Vermont applies the Discovery Rule, which increases the statute of limitations, allowing the clock to begin to run on the date that the injured victim knew or should have known about their injuries, rather than the actual date of the acciden
• Wrongful death claims in Vermont must be brought by the personal representative of the decedent within two years of the death. The Discovery Rule applies, allowing extra time when the cause of the death was not known and when another person, given the same set of circumstances, would not have reasonably known the cause of death within the window of time.
• The state of Vermont has two statutes of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits. The first is three years from the date of the act, error, or omission of medical malpractice. The second is two years from the date the incidence of malpractice was discovered.
• Product liability lawsuits in the state of Vermont must be brought within three years of when the injury or harm occurred as a result of a defective or dangerous product. The Discovery Rule applies in Vermont product liability lawsuits; the statute begins when the injured party discovers or should reasonably have discovered the facts that form the basis of the lawsuit. There is no statute of repose in the state of Vermont.

How Can an Experienced NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit Attorney Help?

If your baby developed necrotizing enterocolitis after being fed a bovine-based formula, you may want to consider speaking to a highly skilled NEC baby formula lawsuit attorney from Sullo & Sullo. Your lawyer can thoroughly assess your situation, then advise you on the merits of a Similac and Enfamil lawsuit. An NEC formula lawsuit can help you pay the medical expenses associated with your baby’s NEC, and can hold the formula manufacturers liable for their failure to warn. If you reside in any of the following Vermont locales, we can help you move forward with a Similac and Enfamil lawsuit.

Burlington, Vermont

South Burlington, Vermont

Colchester, Vermont

Rutland, Vermont

Essex Junction, Vermont

Bennington, Vermont

Barre, Vermont

Williston, Vermont