What food illness claims are worth — honestly

The cases that generally aren't viable

Two to four days of gastrointestinal illness, no doctor visit, no lab work, resolved fully, no lasting effects. Even if a restaurant unquestionably caused it, the economic damages are a few hundred dollars and the cost of proving causation is many times that.

The cases that are

The dividing line is hospitalization and lasting consequence.

• Hemolytic uremic syndrome from E. coli — kidney failure, dialysis, sometimes permanent damage. Most common and most severe in young children
• Guillain-Barré syndrome following Campylobacter — a paralytic condition with long recovery and sometimes permanent deficits
• Reactive arthritis following Salmonella, Campylobacter, or Shigella — can persist for years
• Listeriosis in pregnancy — miscarriage, stillbirth, or severe neonatal infection
• Hepatitis A — extended illness with liver involvement, and exposure claims for those who needed prophylaxis
• Any case involving death
• Long-term sequelae — irritable bowel syndrome following infection, chronic kidney disease, lasting neurological deficits

What drives the number

Medical expenses incurred and reasonably expected in future, lost income and lost earning capacity, the severity and permanence of the injury, whether it's a child — pediatric HUS cases are valued highly because the loss horizon is a lifetime — and whether the defendant knew about the risk beforehand.