In August 2026, Abbott agreed to pay $670 million to settle the case brought by Margo Gill and claims involving about 2,000 other infants, after a Missouri appeals court upheld a $495 million verdict over allegations that Abbott’s preterm formula caused her daughter’s NEC. Abbott said the settlement was not an admission of liability and maintained its products are safe; other lawsuits remain pending.
Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay $670 million to settle a high-profile lawsuit and claims made on behalf of thousands of others related to allegations that its formula for babies born prematurely causes a dangerous intestinal disease.
In 2024, a jury in St. Louis found that Abbott's infant formula caused an Illinois girl to develop necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a dangerous bowel disease. Abbott had been appealing that verdict to Missouri's Supreme Court after a state court of appeals affirmed the judgment in May 2026.
The appellate court also wrote that the “jury found Abbott’s preterm formula caused substantial, extensive, permanent physical harm to Infant who will require comprehensive daily care for the remainder of her lifetime. Further, Abbott specifically designed its preterm formula for the population exposed to the most risk and yet failed to mitigate any danger by warning the consumer or actively changing the ingredient profile. Lastly, the product is still in the market without an NEC warning.”
In September 2026, Abbott agreed to pay $384,999,040 to resolve government allegations that it supplied powder formula from its Sturgis and Casa Grande facilities to public programs despite manufacturing noncompliance and contamination risks. The settlement resolves allegations only; the Justice Department said no liability determination was made. Colorado said it would receive about $2 million. A separate criminal probe was reportedly closed in
Abbott initiated a recall of its infant formula products and closed its Michigan plant in 2022 after investigators found traces of a potentially deadly bacteria at that plant. The recall and the plant closure worsened a national shortage of baby formula that had begun with pandemic supply chain issues.
June 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department closed a criminal probe into Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N), opens new tab over its handling of a baby formula plant linked to potentially deadly bacteria and infant deaths, opting instead for civil penalties, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
Specifically, Abbott allegedly failed to maintain its manufacturing equipment, failed to control the presence of water that put the products at increased risk of microorganism contamination, and, in certain instances, failed to disclose test results indicating the presence of microorganism contamination when responding to requests from the FDA during 2019 and 2022 inspections at the Sturgis facility. Abbott’s misrepresentations allegedly caused the WIC program and state Medicaid programs to purchase powder infant formula and nutritional products manufactured at these facilities despite the products’ failure to meet statutory, regulatory, and contractual requirements.
Washington — California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff is launching a congressional inquiry into why the Justice Department shuttered a long-running criminal investigation into Cronobacter bacterial contamination at an Abbott Laboratories plant that made baby formula.
As described in the complaint, roof leaks were a common occurrence in the Sturgis plant, leading to water running and dripping over equipment. Rather than permanently addressing the root causes, Abbott used temporary solutions, such as roof leak umbrellas, to try to divert leaks in product processing areas even though Abbott corporate leadership understood that the wet environment put the products at increased risk of microorganism contamination. Similarly, the complaint alleged that Abbott continued to run spray dryers, where liquid formula was transformed into a dry powder, even after Abbott documented cracks and pits in the dryers, which also increased the risk of “micro” contamination, particularly in the presence of moisture.
Washington â California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff is launching a congressional inquiry into why the Justice Department shuttered a long-running criminal investigation into Cronobacter bacterial contamination at an Abbott Laboratories plant that made baby formula.In a July 8 letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche reviewed by CBS News, Schiff said he is seeking answers about why senior DOJ officials did not follow prosecutors' advice to pursue felony charges against the company and several of its executives."Under your management, DOJ does not consider a case involving deadly risks to medically sensitive infants, after a recommendation of a felony charge, to be worthy of criminal prosecution," Schiff wrote. "If prosecuting cases involving the risk of injuries or death to premature infants are not a priority enforcement matter, I have questions about what priorities the DOJ considers worthy of pursuing," he added. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed receiving the letter from Schiff's office.In 2022, Abbott Laboratories recalled several of its popular powdered formula brands, including Similac, after consumers complained about infant illness related to products from Abbott Nutrition, in Sturgis, Michigan. The FDA in March said five infants had to be hospitalized due to reported bacterial infections which it said "may have contributed to death in two patients."In a statement, the company told CBS News that "no unopened, distributed Abbott infant formulas have ever tested positive for Cronobacter sakazakii" and said the Food and Drug Administration also separately confirmed in March 2022 that "the unopened product from homes of the infants under investigation at the time of the 2022 recall tested negative for Cronobacter."Further, Abbott said that in four of the cases, open containers of formula were tested, and three of the four were negative for Cronobacter. It said the fourth was positive for two strains of Cronobacter sakazakii, one of which was the same strain that caused the infection in the infant. But neither of the two strains was found at the Sturgis plant.Abbott also said that it learned a year later, in March 2023, that Cronobacter sakazakii was found on breast pump parts in the home of one of the four cases.Federal prosecutors wanted to pursue felony charges in the case, and they had the support of Tysen Duva, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. However, senior DOJ leadership ordered the case closed, the sources added. The Justice Department is working on a civil settlement with the company in a parallel False Claims Act case, according to a public May 12 docket entry, but no details have been made public.A senior DOJ official told CBS News that the department believed that a civil False Claims Act resolution was "the best mechanism to achieve accountability, deterrence and protection of the public" in the matter. The official added that the agreement reached
On Oct. 20, 2020, the Ninth Circuit revived an Abbott Laboratories employee’s age-discrimination suit, finding that a lower court gave too much weight to disputed performance reviews. An Abbott executive said she was told to push out older, higher-paid workers by inventing performance problems and setting unattainable goals; conflicting accounts, including her later qualifications, left credibility questions for trial.
The court also noted that an executive in the organization said she was instructed to "manage out" more senior, higher salaried employees who were usually older by inventing performance problems and assigning unattainable goals. The conflicting accounts created a credibility question best suited for trial, the court said. "She later, in another declaration, retracted one paragraph of the declaration and made statements qualifying other parts of her original declaration," the court said, but her and other conflicting accounts "create a credibility question regarding the weight to be accorded the contradictory evidence they provided, one best suited for trial."
Two former Abbott employees, Jennifer Campinell and Jessica Mayhew, sued in federal court in Maine, alleging disability discrimination and retaliation after raising concerns that defective COVID-19 tests were released. They say Abbott denied remote-work requests and created a hostile workplace. Abbott called the suits “without merit” and said it values fair treatment of employees.
Two former Abbott Laboratories employees have sued the company over allegations it failed to accommodate their disabilities and created a hostile work environment in retaliation for raising concerns over defective COVID-19 tests being released to the public.
In a December 12, 2024 closeout letter, the FDA said Abbott appeared to have addressed violations cited in its 2023 warning letter because it was no longer marketing Similac Probiotic Tri-Blend. The agency cautioned that future inspections would assess whether corrections were adequate and sustained, and reiterated that the product posed risks for preterm infants.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has completed an evaluation of your firm’s corrective actions in response to Warning Letter (WL) #669353 dated 10/24/2023. Based on our evaluation, we understand you are no longer marketing Similac® Probiotic Tri-Blend; as such, it appears that you have addressed the violations contained in this WL. Future FDA inspections and regulatory activities will further assess the adequacy and sustainability of these corrections.
A 2016 Law360 account reported that a federal jury awarded $4.25 million in a single-plaintiff age-discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories. The article described the verdict as unusually large; the supplied excerpt provides no further case details or later outcome.
By Steven Gutierrez, Holland & Hart LLP ( November 23, 2016, 11:30 AM EST) -- A $4.25 million jury award in a single-plaintiff discrimination case is pretty eye-opening. Abbott Laboratories was on the losing end of that verdict in an age discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. What caused a federal court jury to award such a large amount in damages? Here is a look at the facts, followed by tips on how to avoid such liability when dealing with older employees....
OpenSecrets reports that 36 of Abbott’s 47 lobbyists in 2023 and 36 of 48 in 2024 had previously held government jobs. It lists lobbying spending of $4.02 million in 2023 and $4.53 million in 2024. For the 2024 cycle, it reports $5.72 million in political contributions, including donations to recipients across party lines.
A June 29, 2026 Reuters excerpt says an Abbott spokeswoman reported the company had agreed to pay a fine of around $12 million following Chinese investigations into price fixing and anti-competitive practices involving foreign baby-formula companies. The excerpt is truncated and does not provide further details or clarify the matter’s outcome.
Abbott's milk powder products are displayed on a shelf at a supermarket in Beijing August 7, 2013. Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay a fine amounting to around $12 million, a spokeswoman said in emailed comments on Wednesday, following Chinese investigations into price fixing and anti-competitive practices by foreign baby... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more
In March 2022, Abbott said it suspended nonessential business in Russia, including new advertising, investments and business development, while continuing to provide essential medical products. The company pledged $2 million to humanitarian groups and began donating health-care products to Ukrainians in Ukraine and Poland. Abbott said its employees in Ukraine were accounted for at the time.
NORTH CHICAGO, IL — Lake County-based medical and pharmaceutical companies Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie on Tuesday announced the pause of some of their operations in Russia.
Abbott, which has had a presence in Russia since the late 1970s, has suspended all non-essential business in the country. According to a statement from the company, that means no new advertising, business development or investments there.
The Human Rights Campaign’s corporate profile lists Abbott Laboratories at 5/5 and records 25/25 points for Inclusive Culture and 50/50 for Inclusive Benefits. The supplied evidence does not specify the assessment year or provide further details about the criteria.
A federal judge in Maine declined to excuse a former Abbott production group leader from the Illinois forum-selection clause he signed, finding his religious duties and the cost and burden of travel did not justify an exception. The employee alleges race discrimination and retaliation after accommodating Muslim subordinates during Ramadan; the court’s ruling addressed where the case would be heard, not those claims.
Plaintiff came to Maine from Angola in 2016, following persecution based on his work as a Christian pastor. He took a position as a Production Group Leader at Defendant's facilities in Westbrook and Scarborough, Maine, in November 2019. In April 2022, Defendant terminated his employment. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant discriminated against him on the basis of his race in the course of his employment and termination. He also alleges that Defendant retaliated against him after he engaged in protected conduct by making a scheduling decision that accommodated the needs of his Muslim subordinates during Ramadan.
Abbott employees sued under ERISA, alleging that its Traditional PPO and Health Investment Plan PPO offered the same covered care but that the Traditional PPO cost more at every enrollment tier and nearly always meant higher participant costs. The complaint says Abbott should have known this; the reports describe allegations, not a court finding.
Napoleon J. A. Ebarle III alleges Abbott is violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by offering workers “two, materially identical healthcare plans, one of which costs more than the other at every level of medical utilization.” Abbott’s traditional PPO has a lower deductible than the Health Investment Plan PPO offered to employees, but higher premiums so it costs more at every enrollment tier.
The group of employees claim in the class action filed Tuesday in Illinois federal court that Abbott offered its employees two health insurance options that provided the same medical coverage for different costs.
ProPublica’s 527 Explorer lists a $15,000 contribution from the Abbott Laboratories Employee PAC to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. The supplied record does not give a contribution date. ProPublica notes that its database has coverage limitations, including incomplete electronic filings for some contributions made before 2020.
Abbott Laboratories Employee PAC $15,000 contribution to Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee — 527 Explorer — ProPublica
Law360 reported on October 19, 2026, that Abbott persuaded a Michigan federal judge to move former employee Lisowski’s sex-discrimination and retaliation lawsuit to Illinois. The case, filed in May 2026, concerns allegations; the available report excerpt does not describe the claims’ merits or any ruling on them.
Abbott Laboratories has convinced a Michigan federal judge that a former employee's sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit belongs in Illinois. ...