(Correcting sum of verdict to USD60 million.)
(Alliance News) - Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC on Friday said it "stands by the safety of our products" and will pursue all options to overturn a USD60 million verdict handed by an Illinois jury.
Shares in the Slough, England-based consumer goods and hygiene products maker closed 15% lower at 4,486.00 pence each on Friday in London.
The stock was hit by a verdict from an Illinois jury, which ordered Reckitt to pay the USD60 million sum to the mother of a premature baby who died of an intestinal disease after being fed Enfamil baby formula. Enfamil is sold by Reckitt unit Mead Johnson.
Reckitt refuted the verdict, stating that it stands by the safety of its products. The company vowed to pursue all options to overturn the verdict.
"We continue to believe that the allegations from the plaintiff's lawyers in this case were not supported by the science or experts in the medical community. This was underscored during the trial by a dozen neonatologists," the company said.
Ben Whiting, a partner at law firm Keller Postman which represented the plaintiff, said: "This verdict confirms what Mead Johnson has known for years: cow's-milk based baby formula causes [necrotising enterocolitis] in preterm infants, often with fatal consequences.
"For good reason, we believe this is the largest compensatory damages award ever in St Clair County and stands as one of the most substantial in Illinois state history."
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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