A Kentucky couple, whose baby daughter died last year, can sue Abbott Nutrition, the baby formula maker at the center of a 2022 shortage that left parents desperate to feed their children, the Associated Press reported.
Willow Jade Dellaquila died on Nov. 5, 2023, after she was inflected with cronobacter sakazakii, a dangerous bacteria linked to a can of Similac Total Comfort powdered formula used in her bottles, the Associated Press reported.
Willow was just 13 days old.
Cheyenne Ping, 25, and Willow's father, Christian Dellaquila, 26, can move ahead with their lawsuit, an Illinois judge ruled on Wednesday, the AP reported.
"They told me she had a stroke on her right side of the brain," Ping told the wire service. "It's really heartbreaking. No one should have to go through this."
Ping and Dellaquila had wanted to join a lawsuit filed by two other families who say their children suffered brain damage caused by cronobacter that was linked to Similac Neosure, another baby formula made by Abbott.
Both children survived.
The judge asked that the suits be filed separately.
The initial lawsuit named Abbott, whose plant in Sturgis, Mich., was shut down in 2022 following similar reports of infant deaths and illnesses.
An inspection by the Food and Drug Administration found "shocking" conditions that led to recalls, prompting the shortages of baby formula across the country.
The formula given to Willow was made at the Sturgis plant and sold at a local WalMart store - a year after the plant was placed under court-mandated oversight by the FDA, the AP reported.
Abbott officials said there is no proven link between their products and the infections.
"No sealed, distributed product from our facilities have tested positive for Cronobacter sakazakii and we don't believe these claims have merit," Abbott officials said in an email to the AP.
