Big Olaf Creamery has been ordered to pay $4 million to the estate of Mary Billman, a 79-year-old Illinois woman whose death has been linked to a listeria outbreak traced to the Florida-based ice cream maker.
Included in Judge William Jung’s ruling are $1 million Big Olaf will have to pay in punitive damages.
In the wrongful death suit brought by her estate, Billman was described as the "matriarch" of a large family: In addition to serving as the primary caretaker of her husband, who suffers from dementia, Billman had three children, eight grandchildren and four great-grand children.
"Her pain and suffering and resulting death, and ultimate loss to her family and friends, cannot be understated," the suit said.
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