After baby's death, Kentucky parents sue infant formula maker at center of 2022 crisis

The parents of a Kentucky baby who died last fall after drinking bacteria-tainted infant formula are the latest to sue Abbott Nutrition, the manufacturer at the heart of a 2022 crisis that left millions of Americans scrambling to feed their children.

Willow Jade Dellaquila, of Carrollton, Kentucky, was 13 days old when she died on Nov. 5, 2023. She was infected with cronobacter sakazakii, a dangerous germ traced to a can of Similac Total Comfort powdered formula used in the baby’s bottles, records show.

“They told me she had a stroke on her right side of the brain,” Cheyenne Ping, Willow’s 25-year-old mother, said in an interview. “It’s really heartbreaking. No one should have to go through this.”

Ping and the baby’s 26-year-old father, Christian Dellaquila, can move forward with a lawsuit against Abbott, an Illinois judge ruled Wednesday.