Marler Clark to file 5th Botulism Lawsuit against ByHeart

Here are some of the details”

H.M.’s Botulism Illness

1. H.M. was born on September 27, 2024. Plaintiffs began feeding H.M. ByHeart formula on February 17, 2025. 
2. On March 5, 2025, Plaintiffs noticed that H.M. was unusually lethargic and refusing his bottle. He had been constipated for approximately one week, and Plaintiffs grew suspicious that the symptoms were related to the recently introduced ByHeart formula. 
3. The following day, on March 6, 2025, H.M. briefly smiled, but his eyes appeared distant. His head tilted to one side, and his body felt limp. Plaintiffs contacted the pediatrician immediately.
4. Upon examining H.M., the pediatrician instructed Plaintiffs to take him to the hospital “immediately.”
5. At the hospital, medical providers attempted to place an IV, but H.M. was so dehydrated that he required multiple needle sticks—five separate attempts—before an IV could be established. H.M. cried until he became too weak to do so. Physicians advised that he be transported to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for treatment for suspected infant botulism.
6. The next morning, on March 7, 2025, H.M. received the BabyBIG antitoxin. Despite treatment, his condition continued to decline. He required placement of a feeding tube. 
7. H.M. remained hospitalized for twelve days. He required placement of a feeding tube.
8. The experience was devastating for the family. As his mother describes: 
9. Twelve days of fear, sleepless nights, therapies, monitors beeping, doctors coming in with serious faces, and me sleeping upright in a chair next to his bed. Twelve days away from my other babies. My daughter, 7 at the time, broke down over and over. She still suffers today – paralyzing medical anxiety, constant worry for her brother. This trauma seeped into every corner of our family. 
10. Neither my husband nor I could work. The financial stress grew heavier every day. I run a small, client-based business. Being gone for weeks destroyed it. I lost clients. Momentum. Stability. Eventually, after ten years, I had to close it permanently. I didn’t just lose a business – I lost a part of myself. All because of what happened to [H.M.]. 
11. Since April 2025, H.M. has required weekly physical therapy for low muscle tone. He continues to suffer from severe constipation. 
12. In the end, it was a parent’s worst nightmare: 
13. Since the recall, I’ve felt every emotion possible – rage, grief, vindication, heartbreak, fear. It destroys me to know more babies are suffering right now. Life does not go back to normal. [H.M.] requires daily suppositories just to have a bowel movement. Hearing him cry in pain, seeing blood every time… it ruins me. He was born a healthy, perfect baby boy. This changed everything. It changed him, it changed me, it changed my family. I lie aware worrying about long-term consequences. I worry about the future every day. I am grateful beyond words that [H.M.] survived. But gratitude doesn’t erase what happened. It doesn’t erase the trauma, the loss, the fear.

Here is the full complaint: https://www.marlerblog.com/files/2025/12/Mazziotti-Complaint.pdf

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.