Inset: Piper Everett (Facebook/Hanna Everett). Background: The Kentucky Children's Hospital where Piper Everett's condition allegedly worsened while being treated for infantile botulism that her family says was caused by consuming ByHeart brand baby formula (Google Maps).
A 4-month-old baby in Kentucky was diagnosed with an "infant botulism" infection that led to her pupils not dilating and a loss of her gag reflex after she consumed a "cutting-edge" and "clinically proven" formula that was "laced with dangerous bacteria," a lawsuit says.
"This case arises from a parent's worst nightmare," says a legal complaint filed by Hanna Everett and Michael Everett on Wednesday in federal court in the Eastern District of Kentucky.
The Richmond couple say their daughter, Piper, was a "happy, healthy" baby before they started giving her ByHeart Infant formula. They believed ByHeart made the "highest quality" and "most nutritious" formula available after seeing advertisements saying so. This led them to buy multiple cans through Amazon.
"Plaintiffs purchased defendant ByHeart, Inc.'s infant formula because it promised to be a cutting-edge, 'clinically proven,' healthier alternative to traditional formula," the family's complaint says. "Soon after consuming the formula, [Piper] developed constipation and alarming neurological symptoms. Plaintiffs brought [Piper] to the emergency department where doctors diagnosed [Piper] with infant botulism. Public health investigators later confirmed that she was part of a multistate outbreak caused by ByHeart formula."
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Hanna Everett told the Associated Press she thought ByHeart would be "similar to breast milk." She said she felt helpless while watching her little one suffer.
"I was like, 'Oh my god, we need to go to the ER,'" Everett recalled to the AP.
The Everetts said Piper's condition worsened over time, with her becoming "lethargic" first and developing constipation before exhibiting more "disturbing" neurological symptoms, "including an inability to take a bottle," their complaint charges. She was taken to Kentucky Children's Hospital, where her health problems continued.
"[Piper] was admitted to the hospital on November 9, 2025, and her treating physicians soon made a clinical diagnosis of infant botulism and ordered the anti-toxin treatment, which is difficult to produce and extremely scarce," the complaint alleges. "The antitoxin was flown to Kentucky and successfully administered."
The Everetts say the Kentucky Department of Public Health launched an investigation and discovered that Piper had consumed a "recalled" batch of ByHeart. Their child is one of at least 15 infants in 12 different states who have been "sickened" by the formula, according to the complaint. At least one other family in Arizona is also suing the company.
"This never should have happened," Hanna Everett wrote on Facebook this week. "She is now on the upside of this. Most of her team that is taking care of her is happy with her progress. We are still on a feeding tube and waiting for speech/feeding therapy to give their opinion on her status."
ByHeart did not respond to Law&Crime's request for comment Thursday.