SEATTLE — An 8-year-old boy who contracted hepatitis A and needed a liver transplant after eating at a Subway sandwich outlet won a $10 million settlement.
The settlement announced Monday resolves a lawsuit filed by Christian Decker and his parents, who ate at a Subway outlet in September 1999.
The boy was the most seriously affected of the 35 people known to have contracted hepatitis A in the outlet. Unlike the others, who recovered, Christian had to undergo a lifesaving liver transplant in November 1999.
He is expected to need another transplant eventually and will be on medication for the rest of his life, according to court documents.
Under the settlement, $6 million is being paid by Doctor Association, a corporation that grants Subway franchises, and $2 million each by Subway Northwest and the store's owners at the time. The store has since been sold.
Hepatitis A, a liver infection that can cause diarrhea, fatigue and fever in the early stages, is spread through unsanitary conditions that usually can be avoided if food workers thoroughly wash their hands and wear plastic gloves during food preparation.
Others who became ill in the outbreak settled a separate class-action lawsuit for more than $1 million last year.
On the Net: www.subway.com