The parents of a baby girl who was only 13 days old when she died after officials said she drank tainted formula last year can move ahead with a lawsuit against mega-manufacturer Abbott Nutrition.
Kentucky newborn Willow Jade Dellaquila died on Nov. 5, 2023, after she was 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, can be traced to a can of Similac Total Comfort powdered formula used in the baby’s bottles, records show.
“It’s really heartbreaking,” Cheyenne Ping, 25, said.
“No one should have to go through this.”
Abbott was forced to shut down a Sturgis, Mich., plant in 2022 when inspections found widespread contamination at the facility after similar reports of infant deaths and illnesses.
The temporary closure sent parents scrambling to find baby formula.
Ping and little Willow’s father, Christian Dellaquila, 26, were allowed to move forward with a lawsuit against Abbott, an Illinois judge determined on Wednesday.
The couple tried to join a lawsuit with two other families who say their children suffered major brain damage from cronobacter sakazakii linked to a different type of Abbott powdered formula, Similac Neosure.
But the judge requested the three cases be filed separately for now.
The other lawsuits include a baby in Missouri who was sickened in March 2023 at 6 weeks old and an Illinois…
