U.P. man severely burned in explosion.

Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff

A Marquette County jury awarded a $2,500,473.33 verdict for a 34-year-old medical marijuana grower when he was severely burned by an explosion that occurred at his growing facility when U.P. Propane delivered a 78-year-old improperly-requalified propane cylinder to his business, according to plaintiff's counsel.

The plaintiff placed four propane cylinders indoors in the storage room of his industrial growing facility on Friday, April 29, 2016, and locked up for the weekend. One of these cylinders was 78 years old, had no warning label on it and bore no evidence of ever being requalified by visual inspection or other appropriate means.

The plaintiff returned to the grow facility on Monday, May 2, 2016. He opened the doors of the facility and immediately smelled gas. Nevertheless, he went inside and discovered the at-issue 100-pound propane cylinder covered with frost/snow a quarter of the way up. Hoping to get his money back from the defendant, he photographed the cylinder and carted it outside. He then returned inside the building, plugged in a fan and was gathering some tools needed for the day's work when the explosion occurred. Subsequent inspection of the subject cylinder revealed a pinhole leak in the bottom, concealed by the cylinder's foot ring.

The plaintiff was burned on 45 percent of his body and spent a month in the University of Michigan Trauma Burn Center. He incurred over $500,000 in medical bills which was offset by $199,000 in collateral source payments. However, his face was not burned, which posed a challenge in terms of damages.

The defense admitted negligence two days before trial began and focused on alternative causation...