Claims ranging from $800 to $200,000 will be paid to the 1,200 people who sued Iwan’s Deli & Catering for serving E. coli-contaminated food in 1998, according to a $3 million settlement distribution approved this week.
Most plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit will receive up to $1,750 each, plus medical costs, according to Mary Ann Pohl, co-counsel for the plaintiffs.
But up to $200,000 will be awarded to a small number of people who still have symptoms two years after federal health officials linked the deli’s catered potato salad to the widest E. coli outbreak of its kind in the United States, she said.
“We have people who have continuing problems, such as aggravation of colitis or Crohn’s disease or ongoing anemia and other blood deficiencies,” said Pohl, who with Chicago attorney Lawrence Leck combed through hundreds of claims that were registered by the February deadline.
One elderly plaintiff died five months after eating the catered food, and although food poisoning was not considered the cause of death, doctors said it contributed to the patient’s declining health, she said.
The settlement distribution approved by Cook County Circuit Judge Joseph Casciato ends a case that began in June 1998 when thousands of people got sick after eating at 300 parties catered by the now-closed Orland Park restaurant.
Health officials traced the illnesses to a fragile and less damaging strain of E. coli called ETEC, which causes what is commonly known as traveler’s diarrhea. A final report issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1999 said that poor sanitation and refrigeration probably fueled the outbreak at the 14-year-old business.
Although health investigators speculated that as many as 5,000 people became ill, only 1,200 people registered as plaintiffs and asked the court for compensation, Pohl said.
The plaintiffs’ awards will depend on the severity and length of their illness, she said. People who were sick up to three days will receive $800; between four and seven days, $1,000; eight to 14 days, $1,250; 15 to 21 days, $1,500; and more than 21 days, $1,750.
The average illness lasted about a week, she added.
In addition, the victims will be compensated for medical bills, which ranged from $50 to $20,000, and the cost of the catered food, she said.
The awards will be paid out of a fund set up by Iwan’s insurance company. Attempts to reach attorneys for former deli owner Mitch Iwan were unsuccessful.
The restaurant at 157th Street and Harlem Avenue had been popular for fried chicken, salads and other deli items.
The report speculated that the operation had taken in more orders than it could handle, and it confirmed suspicions that potato salad was the most likely source of contamination. Officials criticized the use of a refrigeration truck with no internal thermometer, a malfunctioning sink and poor food handling practices.
The restaurant had passed a June 9 Orland Park health inspection, but the inspection noted that food handlers were mixing salads and preparing fruit trays without gloves and there was no soap at a hand-washing sink.
Iwan’s corrected its procedures and reopened a few months after the outbreak. But despite a loyal following, business fell by half.
Iwan’s closed for good shortly after the CDC issued its report.
