Products Liability Law Reporter

A federal district court denied a defendant baby food manufacturer’s motion to exclude causation-related testimony in a case alleging heavy metals found in baby food led to a child’s brain injury.

Here, the Palmquists sued the Hain Celestial Group, Inc., alleging that it was liable for their son’s physical and mental decline, including autism symptoms that began when he was 30 months old. The defendant moved to exclude causation-related testimony.

Denying the motion, the district court considered the defense argument that the plaintiffs’ experts failed to provide reliable opinions that toxic metal exposure causes autism. The court found that the plaintiffs did not claim that heavy metal exposure either generally caused autism or specifically caused their son’s autism symptoms. Moreover, not all of the experts believe that autism is the most accurate diagnosis for the child’s condition, the court said, noting that one of the plaintiffs’ medical experts diagnosed the child with neurocognitive disorder, and another diagnosed heavy metal toxicity.

The plaintiffs characterize their son’s condition as a brain injury resulting from heavy metal poisoning. They also argue that the child’s consumption of heavy metals in Hain’s baby food led to his heavy metal toxicity and cognitive decline. The plaintiffs did not refer to autism in their complaint, the court noted.

The court said that the defendant may persuade the jury at trial that many, if not all, of the child’s injuries are attributable to autism he developed independent of any exposure to heavy metals. But the defense may not impose a causation burden that is unrelated to the injury for which the plaintiffs seek to hold the defendant responsible, the court said.

Citation: Palmquist v. Hain Celestial Grp., Inc., 2022 WL 18143413 (S.D. Tex. Dec. 28, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Kurt Arnold, Micajah Boatright, AAJ member Roland Christensen, AAJ member Brittany Stewart Clark, Charles Parker, Constance Pfeiffer, Alec Paradowski, Austin Brumbaugh, and Lason LaFond, all of Houston.