Skip to main content
PAS 2025 Meeting Main banner
Final Program


Schedule at a Glance
Icon Legend
Presentation Icons
Ticketed Event
Ticketed Event
Back
Evaluation ViewAttendees 62

Advocacy

Gastroenterology/Hepatology

General Pediatrics

Neonatology

Public Health

Trainee
Session Type: Hot Topic Symposia

Neonatology Under Assault: Lessons from Recent Legal Actions to Ensure Uninterrupted and Protected Progress in Caring for the Extremely Fragile Infant

Sunday, April 27, 2025
10:45am – 12:15pm HST
Location: Convention Center: 315
CE: 1.5

Selected By: Neonatal
Disclosure(s):
Josef Neu, Doctor of Medicine: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Camilia R. Martin, MD, M.S.: Abbott Nutrition (Ongoing) (Products/Services: Speaker Honorarium including speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness); Baxter (Ongoing) (Products/Services: Consultant, Speaker Honorarium including speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness); LactaLogics, Inc. (Ongoing) (Products/Services: Advisory Committee); Plakous Therapeutics (Ongoing) (Products/Services: Advisory Committee); Reckitt/Mead Johnson (Ongoing) (Products/Services: Research Support including clinical trials & the principal or named investigator, Speaker Honorarium including speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness); Vitara Biomedical (Ongoing) (Products/Services: Advisory Committee)

This session will dissect the increasing legal challenges confronting the field of neonatology nutrition and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), with a particular focus on how recent litigations have exploited gaps in clinical practice and scientific research. The session aims to equip neonatologists with essential tools and insights to maintain the progress and protection of neonatal care. A central theme will be the vulnerabilities inherent in the current understanding and characterization of diseases like NEC, which remain ill-defined and consequently expose the practice of neonatology to legal risks. The speakers will highlight how misconceptions around disease associations, risks, and causality can lead to significant legal challenges and emphasize the urgent need for clearer disease characterization and use of appropriate terminology to mitigate these risks. Additionally, the session speakers will discuss the critical role of informed consent, comprehensive parent education, and the implementation of evidence-based policies to safeguard medical practices and the well-being of families. The talks will advocate for transforming legal precedents into robust federal interventions to protect vulnerable populations such as preterm infants. Emphasizing precision in language and practice, the session will guide neonatologists in developing strategies to prevent legal exploitation, foster trust, and emphasize clarity within the neonatology community. Overall, this session aims to underscore the importance of vigilance, proactive strategies, and collaboration across hospital and government levels to ensure that uninterrupted care and advances in neonatal care for highly fragile infants continue effectively.

Learning Objectives:

  • Participants will learn how imprecise NEC definitions and unclear communication lead to legal exploitation and the importance of precise language in clinical neonatology and research.
  • Participants will learn how inadequate court rulings on medical issues necessitate stronger federal interventions to protect the health of vulnerable populations like preterm infants.
  • Participants will gain legal strategies to protect their neonatology practice, emphasizing informed consent, comprehensive parent education, and evidence-based guidelines for improved patient and family care.

Presentations:

  • 10:45am – 11:00am HST
    When Nutrition Turns to Liability: Recent Legal Cases on Formula and Necrotizing Enterocolitis

    Speaker: Josef Neu, Doctor of Medicine (he/him/his) – University of Florida College of Medicine

  • 11:00am – 11:30am HST
    When Legal and Regulatory Precedent Fails: Securing Federal Protections for Neonatal Health

    Speaker: Peter J. Pitts (he/him/his) – University of Paris School of Medicine

  • 11:30am – 11:50am HST
    Balancing Care and Liability: Legal Insights for Neonatologists

    Speaker: Jonathan M. Fanaroff, MD, JD – UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital

  • 11:50am – 12:15pm HST
    Precision Matters: Strengthening Evidence-based Care, Scientific Integrity, and Family Education

    Speaker: Camilia R. Martin, MD, M.S. (she/her/hers) – Weill Cornell Medicine