Jury awards man millions after losing fingers when refrigerant explodes in Kroger store

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An Michigan jury awarded an HVAC technician more than $75 million in a lawsuit against Kroger after he suffered severe chemical injuries from defective refrigerant that exploded in the store, requiring complete or partial amputations of his fingers.
Attorney Jon Marko indicated in a release that his client, Brian Mierendorf, tried to protect nearby customers by trying to stop the refrigerant during the incident, which occurred in 2022, according to the complaint filed in the county's circuit court.
Mierendorf's hands, according to Marko's release, were injected with toxic R-22 refrigerant, which has been phased out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mierendorf has since undergone 25 surgeries.
The award for Mierendorf and his wife, Heather, happened June 17 in what Marko called a "record-breaking verdict" against Kroger Co. of Michigan. The jury awarded the couple economic and noneconomic losses from the time of the incident through 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 a news 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."
Messages were left for an attorney representing Kroger as well as a Kroger spokesperson, both of whom could not be immediately reached for comment June 18.
Marko's release indicated this is thought to be the largest premises liability verdict in Michigan.
The complaint was filed in February 2024 on behalf of Mierendorf, who lives in Macomb County. The incident occurred at Kroger, 3600 West Maple Road, in Bloomfield Hills, on Feb. 1, 2022. Mierendorf was requested to come to the property to perform work on refrigeration lines within the store, according to the lawsuit complaint.
While performing maintenance, it indicated, a refrigeration line began spraying liquid refrigerant into the store. There was no shutoff valve nearby, it stated, and Mierendorf tried to cap the line, but the pressure was too high and refrigerant was pouring out at too high of a volume.
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Mierendorf's left hand froze to the refrigeration line while he was trying to cap it. He tried to break free from the line, but could not, according to the complaint.
"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," it read. "Ultimately, Plaintiff was able to break free from the pipe but sustained serious and grievous injuries."
Those injuries, the complaint indicates, include the loss of the majority of his fingers. Mierendorf suffered severe chemical burns and the amputation and partial amputation of multiple fingers on both of his hands.
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The complaint indicated Kroger was in control of the property and the refrigeration line; failed to warn Mierendorf of the "dangerous condition;" failed to inspect its refrigeration lines before requesting maintenance; failed to install shutoff valves within reasonable distances of areas where the maintenance was to be performed, and failed to properly train, supervise, hire and retain employees with regard to maintenance and work performed on the refrigeration system.
In his release, Marko indicated 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.
Contact Christina Hall: [e-mail]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jury awards man millions after losing fingers in Kroger store incident