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Sean is an attorney in the Mass Tort & Product Liability group.

Inflated jury verdicts in the first two preterm infant formula cases tried in the country have raised significant concerns for manufacturers and the broader medical community. These cases not only spotlight the legal challenges faced by manufacturers of highly specialized products, such as the formulas involved in these cases, but also underscore the potentially devastating effects on the availability and use of essential formula to provide preterm infants with adequate nutrition. In response to these bloated jury verdicts, the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Benjamin Hoffman, M.D., issued a statement declaring that preterm infant formula “is a routine and necessary part of care of these preterm infants” and warning that “[c]ourtrooms are not the best place to determine clinical recommendations for the care of infants . . . we must take steps to protect the supply of infant formula for those who need it.”