Lawyers in the US have reported a case where a cleaner destroyed decades of ground-breaking work by turning off a freezer.
The freezer was said to contain important samples that were needed for an ongoing research which had started several years prior.
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According to them, the cleaner had shut down the freezer due to an alarm sound which the cleaner found to be “annoying”.
Statements indicated that there was a displayed sign that explained how to mute the alarm beep. But the cleaner had reportedly switched off a breaker instead due to a reading error.
The said samples, which were stored at a temperature of -80°C were rendered “unsalvageable” due to the error, leading to damages to the tune of $1 million.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York – the school that owns the laboratory – is filing a law suit against the cleaner’s employer for not training the cleaner properly.
The cleaner’s company was contracted to clean the school for $1.4 million (£1.1 million) back in 2020 and the said incident happened then.
A photosynthesis research, led by Professor K. V. Lakshmi, had the potential to yield “groundbreaking” results which could be instrumental in advancing solar panel development.
This was contained in a report by one of the lawyers representing the institute.
A few days before the incident, an alarm had been triggered due to a 3°C temperature rise.
Because of the Covid 19 restrictions at the time, it would have taken a week before the commencement of any needed repairs.
According to the case, although the change may have had devastating effects, Prof. Lakshmi maintained that the cell cultures, samples, and research would not have suffered any damages.
A sign on the freezer’s door read: “This freezer is beeping as it is under repair. Please do not move or unplug it. No cleaning required in this area.
“You can press the alarm/test mute button for 5-10 seconds if you would like to mute the sound.”
But days after the alarm started sounding, the cleaner switched off the circuit breaker supplying electricity to the freezer.
Most of specimens that were meant to be kept at -80C (-112F) were “compromised, destroyed and rendered unsalvageable, demolishing more than 20 years of research”, according to the legal case.
A safety staff at the institute filed a report that said cleaner had flipped the breaker off, thinking he was actually turning it on.
At the time the researchers noticed the error, the temperature in the freezer had risen by 50 degrees.
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Lawyer Michael Ginsberg told reporters that the cleaner heard “annoying alarms”, and lawyers who interviewed him reported “he still did not appear to believe he had done anything wrong, but was just trying to help.”
The legal team claims that the cleaner’s hiring company failed to provide their staff with proper training. The cleaner’s hirers, on the other hand, are yet to provide a response.
