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Necrotizing Enterocolitis Attorneys

Necrotizing Enterocolitis is a leading cause of infant death. Could your baby’s NEC have been prevented?

If your baby developed NEC while in the hospital, the necrotizing enterocolitis attorneys at The Simon Law Firm may be able to recover damages to help with your baby’s medical care or provide compensation. Scientific studies show that cow’s milk infant formula and fortifiers can trigger NEC, causing injury or even death.

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Necrotizing Enterocolitis Law Firm

As an experienced necrotizing enterocolitis law firm, The Simon Law Firm is dedicated to ensuring that you remain aware of the risks of NEC. Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is an intestinal condition that primarily affects premature and medically fragile infants. NEC may be caused by many factors, such as anatomical abnormalities in the baby’s intestine or lack of oxygen to the intestine.

NEC comes on suddenly and begins when bacteria inflames the baby’s intestinal wall. The intestine may become weakened or perforated, allowing stool to enter the abdomen and cause severe infection. Large sections of the intestine may die. Many babies with NEC survive for only a few hours or days, and those who do survive often suffer lifelong neurological and nutritional challenges. Thousands of infants in the U.S. develop NEC, and hundreds die every year, creating devastating emotional and financial stress for parents and families.

The cause of NEC is not always clear, and some infant intestinal problems are not preventable. But there is one cause of NEC that is manufactured and completely preventable: bovine or cow’s milk, fortifiers that may be added to formula or breast milk at the hospital to help low birth-weight babies gain weight. Cow’s milk formula fortifiers may be the cause of your child’s NEC.

Studies show that NEC is more common in babies receiving cow’s milk or bovine fortifiers in their nutritional formula. As far back as 1990, a study of 926 preterm infants found that NEC was 6 to 10 times more common in formula-fed babies than in those fed breast milk alone, and NEC was three times more common in babies fed formula plus breast milk. In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement that all premature infants should be provided an exclusive human milk diet because of the risk of NEC associated with cow’s milk products.

Hospitals and neonatologists are aware of these studies but often choose to use bovine-milk-based fortifiers because they cost less than human-milk-based fortifiers. That decision may have caused NEC in your baby. Further, the companies that manufacture these bovine-based products have never included a warning to anyone that their products result in a higher risk of NEC in premature babies.

The necrotizing enterocolitis attorneys at The Simon Law Firm specialize in NEC cases. We can help determine if bovine-based fortifiers may have triggered NEC in your child. If this condition could have been prevented, we may be able to secure compensation for you and your baby through litigation.

Our Experience as NEC Attorneys

When you take on a big hospital or corporation, you need an attorney who is ready and willing to investigate all angles and is prepared to fight for you and your family.

The personal injury attorneys at The Simon Law Firm are experienced necrotizing enterocolitis attorneys. Their mission is to provide all clients with the highest-quality legal services with integrity and respect. We understand that you may be overwhelmed at this time, and we want to help you find out what happened to your baby. If negligence or malpractice played a role in your baby developing NEC, we can help you receive compensation for your child’s injuries and your emotional and financial distress.

The Simon Law Firm has been named one of the “winningest” firms in America by The National Law Journal. We specialize in representing patients and families who have experienced catastrophic injuries due to medical negligence or neglect. We have received nearly $2 billion in verdicts and settlements in the past year. We will review your case and be ready to take it to a jury trial to fight for the compensation you and your family deserve. By fighting for you, we can also change the medical system to ensure this tragedy does not happen to other families.

We handle our cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you only pay something if we recover for your case. You can contact our office anytime to tell us your story at no charge. We will review the facts and give you answers you may have yet to receive from medical professionals.

The Simon Law Firm is a family firm, and we understand the importance of family. That is why your case is as important to us as it is to you. Your case becomes our cause. Let us help you in this difficult time.

Simon Law has recovered nearly
$2 Billion
in verdicts and settlements in the past year.

Necrotizing Enterocolitis Complications

Necrotizing enterocolitis complications can cause varying degrees of damage to the colon of primarily premature, formula-fed infants when the tissue of the large intestine becomes inflamed. This inflammation can weaken and even kill the intestinal tissue so that holes form, allowing waste to leak into the abdomen, causing severe infection and even death. Surgery is often required to remove dead or necrotized tissue or repair other intestinal damage. Long-term complications can last a lifetime.

Complications include:

  • developmental delay
  • possibility of multiple corrective surgeries
  • failure to thrive
  • ongoing intestinal problems
  • intestinal stricture or narrowing
  • bowel obstruction
  • anemia
  • intestinal perforation
  • sepsis

Necrotizing Enterocolitis Symptoms

The necrotizing enterocolitis symptoms can mimic many infant intestinal problems. NEC can be diagnosed via X-ray or surgical exploration.

Common symptoms include:

  • a swollen, red, or tender belly
  • trouble feeding
  • food staying in the stomach longer than expected
  • constipation
  • diarrhea and/or dark or bloody stools (poop)
  • baby is less active or lethargic
  • a low or unstable body temperature
  • green vomit (containing bile)
  • apnea (pauses in breathing)
  • bradycardia (slowed heart rate)
  • hypotension (low blood pressure)
Our mission is to provide the highest-quality legal services with
integrity, professionalism, and respect for our clients.

Contact Our Firm Today

We want to hear your story. If you think your baby’s NEC was caused by negligence or wrongful acts, our necrotizing enterocolitis attorneys can help by providing supportive and effective legal counseling.

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