Plaintiff filed a lawsuit on behalf of a deceased individual, alleging that the decedent was given defendants’ cow-milk-based infant formula product, which caused his death. A jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff and defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred when it failed to apply the learned intermediary doctrine, in its instruction to the jury, in key evidentiary rulings, and that plaintiff failed to prove proximate cause or medical cause. The appellate court reversed and remanded, finding that the learned intermediary doctrine applied to the case as a matter of law, that the jury instructions were erroneous and prejudicial, and that the relevance of the defendant’s financial capabilities was substantially outweighed by its probative value. (BOIE and BOLLINGER, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Wrongful Death