The parents of a baby girl who was just 13 days old when she died after authorities say she drank contaminated baby formula last year may file a lawsuit against manufacturing giant Abbott Nutrition.
Willow Jade Dellaquila, a newborn baby from Kentucky, died on Nov. 5, 2023, after being infected with a dangerous germ that caused a stroke on the right side of her brain, her mother said this week.
The deadly bacteria, Cronobacter sakazakii, was found in a can of Similac Total Comfort powdered baby formula used in the baby’s bottles, records show.
“It’s really heartbreaking,” said Cheyenne Ping, 25.
“No one should have to go through this.”
Abbott was forced to close a Sturgis, Michigan, plant in 2022 when inspections revealed widespread contamination at the facility after similar reports of infant deaths and illnesses.
The temporary closure has forced parents to scramble to find baby formula.
Ping and Willow’s father, Christian Dellaquila, 26, were allowed to sue Abbott, an Illinois judge ruled Wednesday.
The couple tried to join a lawsuit with two other families who claim their children suffered major brain damage from Cronobacter sakazakii linked to another type of Abbott powder formula, Similac Neosure.
But the judge asked that the three cases be filed separately for now.
The other lawsuits involve a Missouri baby who became ill in March 2023 at 6 weeks old and a 4-week-old Illinois baby who was infected with the bacteria in July 2021, authorities said.
Fortunately, both survived.
The lawsuits each seek at least $450,000 per family.
Willow had its formula made at the Sturgis plant and sold it at Walmart more than a year after Abbott was placed under Food and Drug Administration court supervision.
The other infants consumed formula from an Abbott plant in Arizona, which has also come under scrutiny in the past for allegedly unsafe conditions, according to federal documents.
Abbott has said there is no proven link between the product and the infections at the center of the lawsuits.
“No product sealed and distributed in our facilities has tested positive for Cronobacter sakazakii and we do not believe these allegations are substantiated,” Abbott officials said in an email.
Bacteria can be present in household kitchens, including sinks, counters, and even spoons that measure formula powder.
The germ can also be present in factories, on equipment and elsewhere.
Although evidence of Cronobacter was found in opened cans of Abbott formula at Willow’s home — and was confirmed to be the source of her infection — documents show that the same strain of bacteria has not been detected in sealed cans of formula or at Abbott plants, federal officials said.
That doesn’t prove the products were free of contamination, said Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Safety at George Washington University.
“A negative result is not as telling as a positive result,” Kowalcyk said. “If you get a positive result, you have a big problem. If you get a negative result, you don’t know what’s going on.”
With post wires
