Statute of Limitations
Texas personal injury SOL: 2 years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). Minor tolling: SOL tolled for minors until age 18, then 2-year SOL runs — child's claim expires at age 20 (§ 16.001). Wrongful death: 2 years from date of death (§ 71.003). Discovery rule recognized in Texas; applicable when injury could not have been reasonably discovered. Texas follows modified comparative fault — 51% bar rule.
Age 20 for surviving minor's personal injury claim; 2 years from death for wrongful death
Where to File in Texas
MDL 3026 — In re Preterm Infant Nutrition Products Liability Litigation — is pending in the Northern District of Illinois before Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer in Chicago. The MDL consolidates claims alleging that Mead Johnson's Enfamil Premature and Abbott's Similac Special Care — both cow's milk-based preterm infant formulas — cause necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) when fed to premature infants, despite the American Academy of Pediatrics' longstanding recommendation that preterm infants receive exclusive human breast milk. NEC carries a 15–30% mortality rate and causes severe intestinal destruction in surviving infants. More than 30,000 cases are pending in the MDL as of early 2026.
Statute of Limitations (TX): 2 years from NEC diagnosis (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003); discovery rule tolls the statute until parents knew or should have known of the causal link to cow's milk-based formula. Wrongful death: 2 years from infant's death.
Federal Transfer to MDL 3026: Claims filed in Texas state court may be removed to the Southern, Northern, Eastern, or Western District of Texas and subsequently transferred by the JPML to MDL 3026 in N.D. Illinois. Texas plaintiffs comprise a significant portion of pending MDL dockets given the state's birth volume and NICU infrastructure.
NICU Volume & Premature Birth Data (TX): Texas records approximately 40,000–45,000 premature births per year — one of the highest raw totals in the U.S. due to population size. Major NICUs include Texas Children's Hospital (Houston), Dell Children's Medical Center (Austin), Parkland Memorial Hospital (Dallas), and University Health (San Antonio). Premature birth rates in South Texas border counties exceed the state average.
Exposure in Texas
Source: March of Dimes, 2024
Source: Texas Health and Human Services
Source: Harris County District Court
Clinics & Specialists in Texas
Texas Children's Hospital — NICU (Level IV)
Children's Medical Center Dallas — NICU (Level IV)
Your Legal Team
Robert Denton
Partner — Product Liability
Houston, TX
Robert Denton has built one of Texas's most active NEC formula litigation practices over the past six years, representing families across Harris, Dallas, Bexar, and Travis counties whose premature infants were harmed by Enfamil Premature and Similac Special Care formula. His product liability background — initially developed in pharmaceutical and medical device cases — translated naturally to NEC litigation when the scientific evidence against Abbott and Mead Johnson became impossible to ignore. Robert has tried four NEC cases to verdict in Texas state courts and achieved several confidential settlements in the eight-figure range. He is a frequent speaker at Texas Trial Lawyers Association seminars on NEC science and the MDL bellwether process.
Education
- J.D., University of Texas School of Law (2009)
- B.A., Biology, Rice University (2006)