Lawyer Jake Plattenberger told the jury to ‘make it hurt’ when they awarded their almost half-billion dollar award against Abbott Laboratories Inc. And hurt it did.
In a plot twist worthy of a John Grisham novel, Abbott Laboratories just got served a financial bottle they can’t return with the massive baby formula verdict Plattenberger achieved for his clients.
On July 26, the St. Louis jury delivered a whopping $495 million verdict against the company.
In 2021 baby Robynn Davis was given Similac infant formula, following which events took a dramatic turn for the catastrophic.
Jake Plattenberger, the lawyer representing Robynn’s mom, Margo Gill, argued that this formula flip was the turning point for the worse, and proved it with the verdict the Missouri jury handed his client.
The Verdict: Jury Says “Hold My Formula”
The jury, clearly not buying what Abbott was selling. They order:
- $95 million in compensatory damages (That’s “sorry we messed up” money)
- $400 million in punitive damages (AKA the “don’t do it again” fund)
The $95 million in compensatory damages, such as medical care for Davis, who cannot walk or talk and is fed through a tube because of brain injuries caused by NEC.
Abbott’s Defense: A Formula for Failure?
Abbott’s legal team, led by James Hurst from Kirkland & Ellis tried to paint a picture of a baby already in crisis. Their argument? Little Robynn had a “major hypoxic event” at birth, causing brain injuries before she even tasted their formula.
But Plattenberger wasn’t buying this origin story. The jury agreed.
The Bigger Picture: This Ain’t No ‘Baby’ Case
This verdict is just the second in a growing trend of lawsuits linking cow’s milk-based infant formula to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). It’s a mouthful to say and a nightmare to experience.
With more trials on the horizon in Missouri, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., it looks like the infant formula industry might need to start lactating some serious settlement funds.
It is also a case that cements Plattenberger’s role as a leading personal injury lawyer.
His legal career began at the Richard J. Daley Center in downtown Chicago, one of the busiest civil courthouses in the country.
He initially worked in insurance defense to gain valuable courtroom experience, always intending to transition to plaintiff’s law.
At TorHoerman Law he now leads the Chicago office, managing trial teams for complex nationwide litigation. His notable cases include:
- Representing workers exposed to Diacetyl who developed lung disease
- The Juul/E-cigarette Litigation
- Incretin Mimetics Products Liability Litigation (appointed to Plaintiff’s Steering Committee)
- Transvaginal Mesh multidistrict litigations
He also handles the ‘more standard’ personal injury cases involving catastrophic accidents, product liability, maritime incidents, premises liability, and medical malpractice.
He believes personal involvement is essential to successfully represent clients and he retains a strong belief in being available to clients and their families at all times.
