Call The Harris Firm LLC today at (205) 201-1789
No parent should have to watch their newborn fight NEC — and no parent was warned that the formula fed to their preemie could raise that risk. If this happened to your family, one free phone call tells you whether you have a claim.
In short: Necrotizing enterocolitis is a devastating intestinal disease that strikes premature infants. Research has associated cow’s-milk-based formulas and fortifiers with a significantly higher NEC risk in preemies compared to human milk — and lawsuits allege the manufacturers knew and never warned parents or hospitals.
The products: Cow’s-milk-based formulas and human milk fortifiers made for premature infants and used in NICUs nationwide, including products in the Similac and Enfamil lines.
Who typically qualifies: Families whose baby was born premature, was fed cow’s-milk-based formula or fortifier in the hospital, and was then diagnosed with NEC — especially where the baby needed surgery or, heartbreakingly, did not survive.
The track record: Juries hearing these cases have returned some of the largest verdicts in the country, and the coordinated litigation continues to accept new claims. Deadlines are strict — especially for families who lost a child.
What NEC Is — and What the Lawsuits Allege
Necrotizing enterocolitis attacks the intestinal tissue of newborns — overwhelmingly premature ones. The tissue becomes inflamed and begins to die. Some babies recover with treatment. Others need emergency surgery to remove sections of their intestines, and live with the consequences for life. Some do not survive at all.
Decades of research have associated cow’s-milk-based formula with a substantially higher risk of NEC in premature infants compared to breast milk or donor milk — a body of evidence strong enough that major medical organizations have long urged human milk for preemies whenever possible. The lawsuits allege the formula manufacturers knew this science, marketed their preemie formulas and fortifiers to hospitals anyway, and never put a warning in front of the parents whose consent was being asked.
Those claims are consolidated in coordinated national litigation, where juries have already returned some of the largest verdicts in the history of these cases. New claims from families like yours continue to be filed and accepted.
Compensation in NEC Cases
Compensation in these claims can account for the NICU and surgical bills, the lifetime of medical care some NEC survivors need — feeding difficulties, short bowel syndrome, developmental impacts — and the suffering your child and your family endured. In wrongful death cases, Alabama law provides its own framework, and we will walk you through it plainly and patiently.
Juries have valued these cases at extraordinary levels because the facts deserve it. We will not promise your family a number — we will promise a claim built carefully enough to be worth what your child’s story deserves.
How Your NEC Claim Works
Handled from Alabama, by an Alabama firm — with national trial co-counsel where your case benefits from it.
Free Phone Consultation
Tell us about your baby’s birth, the NICU stay, and the NEC diagnosis — at whatever pace you need. We can usually tell you in one call whether your family qualifies.
Electronic Sign-Up and Records
The engagement is signed from your phone or computer. We obtain the NICU feeding records, medical records, and imaging — you will not have to relive it document by document.
Your Claim Is Filed and Prosecuted
We file your claim in the coordinated national litigation, working alongside experienced trial co-counsel who help lead these dockets — disclosed to you, agreed in writing, at no added cost. Your relationship stays with us.
Resolution — No Fee Unless You Recover
The attorney fee comes out of any recovery, never out of your pocket. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee.
NEC Formula Claims — Frequently Asked Questions
1.What does it cost to pursue an NEC claim?
Nothing up front. The consultation is free, and the case is handled on a contingency fee — the attorney fee is a percentage of any recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee.
2.Is this a claim against the hospital or our NICU doctors?
No. These claims are against the formula manufacturers, who are alleged to have known the risk and withheld it from everyone — including the doctors and nurses who cared for your baby. Your NICU team is not the target.
3.I don’t remember which formula the NICU used. Is that a problem?
Not at all. NICU feeding records document every feed your baby received — product, amount, and time. Obtaining and reading those records is one of the first things we do. You only need to remember where your baby was treated.
4.Our baby survived NEC and is doing well now. Do we still have a claim?
Possibly, yes. Surgery, a long NICU stay, and ongoing digestive or developmental complications all support a claim even for a child who is thriving today. We are glad your child is doing well — and that does not erase what your family went through.
5.We lost our baby to NEC. What does a claim involve for us?
A wrongful death claim, brought through your child’s estate — which usually must be opened first, and which our probate attorneys handle as part of the same engagement. The deadlines on these claims are strict, and we will treat every step of it with the gentleness it deserves.
6.Who will actually handle my case?
The Harris Firm LLC. We evaluate your claim, sign you up, gather your records, and stay your firm throughout — and we work alongside experienced national trial co-counsel who help lead this litigation, with every arrangement disclosed to you and agreed in writing at no added cost.
Your Family’s Story Deserves to Be Heard
One free, unhurried phone call tells you whether your family qualifies and what happens next. No obligation, no fee unless you recover — and no pressure at any step.
Have This Handy When You Call
✓ Where your baby was born and treated, and roughly when
✓ How premature your baby was, if you recall
✓ When NEC was diagnosed and how it was treated
✓ Any surgeries or ongoing complications
✓ Rough is fine — the hospital records fill in the rest
Call the Office Nearest You
Birmingham — (205) 201-1789
Chelsea — (205) 677-5490
Huntsville — (256) 665-9473
Montgomery — (334) 782-9938
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