04/10/2026
Keller Postman LLC has secured $70 million in jury verdicts on behalf of four Illinois families in a historic trial against Abbott Laboratories, marking the first time an Abbott infant formula case has reached a verdict in Illinois state court. The Cook County jury awarded $53 million in compensatory damages to plaintiffs Antonia Mendez, Eboni Williams, Casie Thompson, and Kara Sharpe, followed by an additional $17 million in punitive damages after evidence showed Abbott concealed the risks of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
"The jury’s verdicts on behalf of these four infants confirm once again what Abbott has known for years and chosen to ignore: that Abbott’s cow's milk-based formula causes NEC in premature infants, often with devastating and irreversible consequences. Four families walked into that courtroom asking for justice, and four families received it. We are so proud to have stood beside them, and we are not done," said Ben Whiting, Senior Partner at Keller Postman.
Today's verdict builds on Keller Postman's landmark 2024 victory — a $60 million jury verdict against Mead Johnson, the first trial ever to hold a cow's milk-based formula manufacturer accountable for causing NEC in premature infants. Together, these outcomes send an unmistakable message: manufacturers who have long known of the dangers of their products and continued to market them to the most vulnerable infants will be held accountable.
A special thanks to our attorney team, including Ben Whiting, Amelia Frenkel, Jamie Price, Laura Shannon and our trial partners at Olson Grimsley Kawanabe Hinchcliff & Murray LLC for their exceptional work on this case.
Read the full press release here: https://www.kellerpostman.com/keller-postman-secures-70-million-in-verdicts-for-all-four-plaintiffs-in-historic-abbott-formula-trial/
