Latest news with #Mierendorf
Hindustan Times
9 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Technician who lost fingers in Kroger refrigerant blast awarded $75 million in damages
A Michigan jury has granted over $75 million in damages to an HVAC technician who sustained life-altering chemical injuries while on the job at a Kroger store in 2022. The technician, Brian Mierendorf, lost most of his fingers and underwent 25 surgeries following a refrigerant explosion inside the Bloomfield Hills store, according to his attorney Jon Marko in a press release cited by USA Today. (Also read: US man granted Chinese residency after staying 15 years to master ancient martial arts) As per the outlet, the incident occurred on 1 February 2022, when Mierendorf was called to perform maintenance on a refrigeration system at the Kroger store located in Bloomfield Hills, a Detroit suburb. While on the job, a refrigeration line began spraying R-22, a highly toxic and now-banned refrigerant. The complaint stated that the leak occurred near the store's meat department during working hours. With no shutoff valve nearby, Mierendorf attempted to stop the leak to protect nearby customers. 'Kroger had a ticking time bomb in its store… Unfortunately, it blew up on Brian, and he lost his hands trying to save other people,' said Marko in the release. He described Mierendorf's act as heroic, noting that Kroger attempted to shift blame onto the technician during trial. On June 17, an Oakland County jury awarded Mierendorf and his wife Heather what Marko termed a 'record-breaking verdict' in Michigan for premises liability. The award includes both economic and non-economic damages for past and future suffering. 'The verdict sends a clear message to Kroger that Brian's actions should be commended,' added Marko. 'Brian literally gave up his hands in the line of duty.' According to the filed complaint, Mierendorf's left hand froze to the pipe as the refrigerant gushed out. He was barely able to breathe due to the chemical exposure. He ultimately broke free but suffered severe chemical burns, and multiple fingers on both hands had to be amputated. (Also read: US man uses ChatGPT as a lawyer to get ₹2 lakh refund from airline, hotel) As per the outlet, the complaint accused Kroger of negligence for failing to warn Mierendorf of the dangers, not installing shutoff valves, and failing to maintain or document proper inspection and repair records for the refrigerant system. The company allegedly presented only a partial incident report more than two years after the explosion.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jury awards man millions after losing fingers when refrigerant explodes in Kroger store
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. More: Investigation finds Kroger overcharged customers for sale items More: Michigan mom, son awarded $120M in malpractice lawsuit over delayed C-section 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. More: Overcharged on a product? In Michigan consumers are owed compensation 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: chall@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press. Submit a letter to the editor at This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jury awards man millions after losing fingers in Kroger store incident
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
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. Bed bug lawsuit: 2 hotel guests in California awarded $2 million 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. Mike Lindell verdict: MyPillow founder defamed former voting equipment company boss 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
