Michigan jury awards over $75M to man who lost fingers in Kroger chemical explosion
DETROIT — A Michigan jury awarded more than $75 million in damages to an HVAC technician who suffered severe chemical injuries and lost most of his fingers after defective refrigerant exploded in a Kroger store in 2022, his attorney announced on June 17.
In an attempt to protect nearby customers, Brian Mierendorf was seriously injured when he tried to stop the refrigerant during the incident, his attorney Jon Marko said in a news release. The incident occurred in February 2022 at a Kroger store in Bloomfield Hills, a northern suburb of Detroit, according to a complaint filed in Oakland County Circuit Court.
The explosion released a toxic chemical — called R-22 — which is a type of refrigerant that was used in various applications, including residential air conditioning systems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency began phasing out the chemical in 2010, and then banned its production and import in 2020, according to manufacturing company Trane.
Mierendorf's hands were injected with toxic R-22 refrigerant, the news release states. Since February 2022, Mierendorf has undergone 25 surgeries to try and save his hands, Marko said in the release.
An Oakland County jury awarded Mierendorf and his wife, Heather, on June 17 in what Marko called a "record-breaking verdict" against Kroger Co. of Michigan. The jury awarded the couple economic and non-economic losses from the time of the incident through the years into the future, according to the verdict form.
"Kroger had a ticking time bomb in its store at Bloomfield Township, waiting to blow. Unfortunately, it blew up on Brian, and he lost his hands trying to save other people in the store from toxic chemicals being sprayed out in the middle of the day in front of the meat department," Marko said in the release.
"At trial, Kroger's defense was to blame Brian for his heroic actions. The verdict sends a clear message to Kroger that Brian's actions should be commended, and that Brian literally gave up his hands in the line of duty at the expense of himself and his family is priceless," Marko added.
An attorney representing Kroger and a company spokesperson did not immediately respond to the Detroit Free Press', part of the USA TODAY Network, requests for comment on June 18.
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Marko indicated in the release that the jury's award is believed to be the largest premises liability verdict in Michigan.
The incident occurred on Feb. 1, 2022, after Mierendorf was requested to come to the Kroger store to perform work on refrigeration lines within the property, according to the complaint. The complaint was filed in February 2024 on behalf of Mierendorf, who lives in nearby Macomb County.
While performing maintenance, a refrigeration line began spraying liquid refrigerant into the store, the complaint states. There was no shutoff valve nearby, and Mierendorf tried to cap the line, but the pressure was too high and refrigerant was pouring out at a high volume, according to the complaint.
Mierendorf's left hand froze to the refrigeration line while he was trying to cap it, the complaint states. He tried to break free from the line, but could not.
"The refrigerant was pouring out at such a rate that Plaintiff could barely breath(e) as he attempted to break his hand free from the pipe," the complaint reads. "Ultimately, Plaintiff was able to break free from the pipe but sustained serious and grievous injuries."
Those injuries include the loss of the majority of his fingers, according to the complaint. Mierendorf suffered severe chemical burns and the amputation and partial amputation of multiple fingers on both of his hands.
The complaint indicated Kroger was in control of the property and the refrigeration line. It accused the company of:
Failing to warn Mierendorf of the "dangerous condition."
Failing to inspect its refrigeration lines before requesting maintenance.
Failing to install shutoff valves within reasonable distances of areas where the maintenance was to be performed.
Failing to properly train, supervise, hire, and retain employees with regard to maintenance and work performed on the refrigeration system.
In the release, Marko said Kroger did not produce any maintenance, repair, or inspection records for the subject refrigeration system at trial — despite a legal obligation to do so — and produced only a partial incident report filled out over two years after the incident occurred. Federal law and local policies required Kroger to document all of these, it indicated.
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Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan jury awards over $75M after man loses fingers in Kroger store
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